


I don't fit in here

by Kosei



Series: No Longer Metallic [2]
Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Bad Parenting, Day At The Beach, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Family Drama, Festivals, Fireworks, First Kiss, Fist Fights, Fluff, I love this with all my heart even though it's weird, Japanese, Japanese Culture, M/M, Manipulation, Past Relationship(s), Road Trips, Secrets, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Rivalry, Slice of Life, Stalking, Sunsets, my ideas are weird, suikawari, this whole thing is fucking weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-03-19 22:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 66,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18979627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kosei/pseuds/Kosei
Summary: X and Zero live their lives as student in highschool. Things sometimes get complicated, with X's brother Rock dealing with his first crush. Or Zero dealing with his grandfather and bratty cousin. But, if they have each other, things will end up alright... Right?*first 2 chapters were oneshots at first until I realized how stupid of an idea it was, so wording may be weird***Sequel to Zero's bad day, but you don't need to read it to understand wtf is goin' on**





	1. Dr.Wily's Fantastical funfilled roadtrip

  


In an unspecified area in Japan, in a certain town, a trailer sat on frayed yellow grass. And inside was the Wily family, the most dysfunctional family to ever exist. Starring Wily, who never truly got over the “glory days” in university and holds a grudge against his old friend light. He made it in the field of robotics and had recognition and a stable job. Wily never did and worked with “brats” and teaching them math.

Zero lived with him. He was the son of Wily’s only child. She was drunk, going 100 on a highway and smashed right into a truck at an intersection. The light was red. He inherited her good looks and attitude but thankfully did not inherit her lack of common sense.  
Zero didn’t know much about her, other than a picture of her when she was his age. He guessed she was going to prom, judging from the dark blue dress that was in a mermaid style, and the amount of makeup. She had a beauty mark underneath the left eye and dazzling sapphire eyes. Wily had an arm around her, his hair was an attractive dirty blonde. This surprised Zero, it was weird seeing him without his giant bald spot and grey hairs. He guessed he was in his 30’s.  
They looked happy.  
It’s been more than 20 years since then. She was in her 30’s when she died.

Finally, we had Bass. The brattiest 12-year-old child this side the Mississippi river and distant cousin of Zero. How they were exactly related was a mystery to both Zero and Wily but he was.  
Somehow. He had the same last name, which was enough.  
Bass liked to hit, liked to throw tantrums, liked to scream, and loved to pick fights. Wily, being the shitty, slime-ball of a person who couldn’t get over things from years and years ago encouraged him to go for Rock, a boy his same age who had a sweet and tender soul. Unlike Bass whos, whose heart and soul was twisted. That may be an exaggeration. He wasn’t a bad kid really…  
He just really fucking hated Rock. He would go for Rock even if Wily told him not too. 

All of them had long since been cut from the rest of the Wily family. Or at least, Wily himself had. Bass hadn’t seen any of his immediate family in years and Zero suspected that they didn’t even know he existed. Not that he gave a shit.

However, one fateful day…

Wily had just gotten home with a stack of letters in his hands. Bass was watching soccer players smash clay pots with their heads on their old clunker TV that had a dead VCR attached to it. Zero was in the kitchen, stirring a pot of mac n cheese and muttering how he hated his life.  
Wily grumbled as he opened the letters. Same old, same old.Another speeding ticket a package of Oreos that the last person who lived there won a lifetime supply of, and just junk. Supermarket coupons for a chain he hadn’t been in years, etc, etc. a bright pink envelope he had never seen before caught his eye. He carefully opened it and slid out a… Invitation? He was invited to something?! Him?!?! He hadn’t been invited to anything since he called a kid fat at the Christmas party in ‘99. How was he supposed to know she was struggling with “depression” and “body image” and “was hospitalized for being underweight?!” They cut him out of everything!

Yet, here he was holding an invite to a family reunion… Just for him.  
It was out in the country. Way out in the country. He needed to go. Needed to, if he was lucky enough he could see that the old hag was alive and somehow show the bitch he wasn’t as useless as she thought and maybe get a slice of the inheritance pie.  
They thought that he hadn’t seen his mom in so long he had no idea she was alive should disturb him. In his mind, it was not his fault she never had a facebook.

He slammed his hands on the table, interrupting the peace and Treble the ratty looking black dog stopped it’s licking session. It gave him a “what the fuck?” look.

“What the fuck old man?!” Bass yelled.  
“Watch your mouth! We’re going on a road trip”  
Silence passes. Zero and Bass exchanged looks that make Wily’s eye twitch in anger. They both thought he was crazy, didn’t he?!  
“I’m not crazy! We’ve been invited to a reunion- a FAMILY reunion-”  
“Shit really?! The last time I saw Mom she was getting arrested for having meth in her car.”  
“...” Sometimes Wily forgot why Bass was living with him. At least he couldn’t take all the blame for fucking his life up. His druggie of a mother could take some too.

“I doubt she’ll be there. She’s probably still in jail.” Wily responded after a moment.  
Bass just shrugged, something that kinda worried Wily. But then again, he was… what, 3? That was 9 years ago. Zero was… 7-Wait where the fuck was he going?! He whipped his head around to see he was steadily approaching the door.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”  
“I’m not going on that fucking road trip Wily. No way, that's where I draw the fucking line. I am not going into a hot car for HOURS with you, that brat-”  
“Who you calling a brat?!” Bass reared up for a fight, which Zero ignored.  
“-and that MUTT.”  
Treble growled, Zero shot a nasty glare at it and it ceased.

“It doesn’t matter what you want! As long as you live in this house-”  
“Trailer.”  
Bass smirked as Wily shot him a glare.  
“...As I was saying, as long as you live in this house, you are not going anywhere.”  
“Yes I am,” he responded.  
“Where would you go anyway?!” Wily yelled, realizing his options were limited on how much he could threaten him. If he actually had another place to go he couldn’t-  
“X.”  
Of course.

“Hell no! You’re not going to the Light family!” He screamed, it was bad enough that he was actually friends with one of the “sons” of that blasted Light, but to spend at least a WEEK with them was a no-go.  
“It doesn’t matter what you want. I’m going.” He left with only his phone.

Silence passed throughout the trailer. Wily fuming, sweating, his face getting redder, redder REDDER…  
Bass interrupted the silence, “whatever. More space for me.” and he went to go and pack.

Perhaps the brat had a point, he thought. He picked up the invitation and his heart sunk. He missed the bit where it said “bring the kids or else you will not be allowed in. Both of them.”  
He sighed, yelled at Bass that he was leaving and went… to the light family.

The light family's house was as nice as always. Lush green grass, green hedges that were trimmed neatly, and a nice cozy looking mansion made of brick. Well, it wasn’t quite a mansion but it was a huge building. The rain had started to build and was lightly drizzling. Wily muttered about hating his life and he knocked on the door. After a moment he heard a high-pitched voice say “I’ll get it!”

The door swung open to the great and gracious Rock. His sweet face and blue eyes and lightly tousled brown hair. Wily internally cringed how his sour, cynical, aged face looked like compared to Rock’s youthful one. He felt like an old dried out lemon.  
He huffed, “where’s Zero?”  
“Uhm…” his eyes shifted from side to side. He guessed it would be uncomfortable having your math teacher who clearly hated him at the door.  
But he could quit looking so uncomfortable already.  
“H-he’s with X. X!”  
He heard a “what is it?”  
“Dr. Wily wants to see Zero!”

A few moments later Zero came to the front door, scowling and Xavier was by his side. Glued at the hip.  
“I’m not going.”  
“...What would it take for you to go?” Wily asked.  
Zero looked confused.  
“What do you want boy?” Wily asked again, frustration creeping into his voice.  
“Money.”  
“Fine, how mu-”  
“And. “ he paused. “You to go to the grocery store more often. So I don’t have to eat mustard sandwiches.”  
God fucking dammit.  
“Okay, fine. Fine. How much goddamn money do you want?!”  
“10,000 Zenny.”  
Mother fucker.  
Wily cursed and handed the money over. Zero waved X goodbye and happily got 

And that's how Wily ended up here. Driving deep into the country, going from highway to highway in a rented minivan with a couple of brats.  
Zero sat in the back row, Bass sat in the middle row with Treble. No way Wily was going to pay for a kennel. Even still, Wily was thankful he got space all to himself. Gave him enough room to put all the coffee and red bulls he was likely going to consume.  
So far the road trip hadn’t been too bad. Zero was listening to music, probably heavy metal, but WIly didn’t care enough to ask. As long he was out of his receding hair. and Bass wasn’t as annoying as he was usual. He was content staring out the window and petting Treble, which was very very out of character for him. He was beginning to actually worry about him when he realized something….  
“Bass?”  
“What old man?” He spat.  
“Don’t call me that. Have you ever… traveled anywhere?” Wily watched his reaction from the rearview mirror.  
“Fuck kinda question is that?”  
“Quit being a smartass and answer the question,” Wily said with an exasperated sigh. Honestly, the kid never gave a straight answer to anything he asked.  
“No. Why?”  
“...”

Holy hell the kid has never been out of the town. Wily’s never driven him into the city, Zero wouldn’t ever give him money for the subway. No wonder he’s been staring out the window- 

“THE BEACH!” Bass screeched like a banshee and pressed his face against the window.  
“We are not going to the beach!” Fucking hell, there just HAD to be a beach this way. Wily had pity for Bass, but not enough to pity to stop driving. But he just screamed and screeched and begged, and screamed and screeched,  
“I WANNA GO TO THE BEACH!”  
“ALRIGHT FINE! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!”

So that's how Bass ended up barefoot with his feet in the water. It was kind of a shitty beach, the sand was just small gravels and the water was freezing. For whatever reason Bass seemed happy with himself. Treble was also happy. The mangy mutt was running like a maniac, through the sand, through the water, sniffing everything and everything and rolling around in the sand. Aw fuck, there's going to be fucking sand in the car.  
It didn’t take long for Zero to come over and hold him down. He guessed he was upset because of Bass’s screaming earlier. Wily didn’t care enough to break up the fight, Zero had him in a chokehold and held one of his arms behind his back. Bass wiggled around, kicking up gravel and water all over Zero’s jeans and screaming,  
“UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE!”

Wily tuned it all out. The world fell away from gravely beaches and smokey grey clouds, and into a world of sparkling glistening sand and water. The sky was blue as can be with white cotton candy clouds and warm sun and air.  
“Daddy! Look at my sand castle!”

“SHUT UP! We’re going back into the car!” Wily yelled at them, finally having enough of Bass’s fussing. Zero dropped the kid like a hot potato and Bass flopped into the war, splashing more water onto his jeans.  
“You fucking ASSHOLE!” Bass growled and tackled Zero to the ground, he crashed to the ground with a bigger splash and both were now drenched. They had a bit of a fight like that, limbs entangling, water and gravel getting everywhere. The fight ended when Zero got up and punched Bass in the stomach. Bass looked more like a flopping fish as he gasped and choked in the salty water, groaning in pain.

Wily just sighed. 

That was how Zero and Bass ended up wet and shivering in the car.  
“For god's sake, put your hair up. It’s bad enough you won’t cut it, makes you look like a girl.” Zero’s hair was down and it flew up in 15 different directions, it was in bad need of brushing.  
“Can’t. Hair tie broke," Zero explained.  
“And whose fault is that?! You were the ones fighting in that damned rain!” He snarled, slamming his fists onto the dashboard for emphasis.  
“You didn’t tell us to stop!” Bass retorted.  
“I shouldn’t have to fucking tell you to stop! You’re fucking 12, not 6!”  
Bass shut up, muttering to himself.  
“And you! I expected more out of you! You’re old enough to get your driver's license! Grow the fuck up already! It’s your own fault you look like a fucking drowned rat!”  
Zero grumbled quietly.

They sat in silence for about 15 minutes before bass broke it,  
“I’m hungry.”  
“Don’t start that shit.”  
“I want WcDonalds,” Zero then said.  
“Jesus Christ not you too. Suddenly you want to get along with him when you get something out of it!”  
“Well… Duh.” Zero said nonchalantly.  
“You’re fucking wet! I’m not going anywhere with you like that!”  
“Drive through. “ Bass chimed in.  
“I’M NOT GOING TO THE FUCKING DRIVE-THROUGH!” Wily screamed at them, head around to face them.  
“BUT WE’RE HUNGRY!” they screamed back. Treble barked a couple times with them.  
“I-”  
‘WATCH OUT!”

Wily’s head spun back to the front, a truck was heading right for them. Bass screamed swear words on the top of his lungs, Treble frantically barked some more, Zero muttered something about death, Wily frantically spun the wheel and they rolled off into the side of the road, right into a grassy ditch.

Zero’s wild hair was even wilder when everything was said done, the blonde locks looked less like rapunzel’s bad hair day and more like a golden fuzzball. Bass opened the door and flopped right into the grass, probably in shock about the whole thing as he laid there staring into the sky as the white clouds rolled past. Treble licked his cheek and sat next to him.

“What are you doing?” Wily asked, getting out. If he wasn't shaking all over he sure felt like he was. Death was right there in front of him, and he only managed to avoid the death horn that rolled past them.  
“Trying to decide if I’m alive or not.”  
“You’re alive. Get back in.”  
“No.”  
Wily didn’t argue.  
“It would be ironic if this was where I died. “ Zero commented as he laid on the seat of the sideways van.  
“Why?”  
“Cause that’s how she died.”

“...That was a lie.”  
Zero sat up, “What?”  
“That’s not how she died.” This also caught Bass’s attention, he also sat up. 

“What?” Zero repeated.  
“You’re old enough to know the truth. She died... She died…” He looked away, “...She died giving birth to you.”

Truth hung heavy in the air. It seemed even the trees were silent.

“Tell the truth.”  
“Huh?”  
“Tell the truth.” Zero commanded. His sapphire eyes directed right into his soul. This caught Wily off guard.

“I am telling the truth!”  
“The whole truth. You never had a daughter, did you?”  
The air became even thicker. Tension thick enough for a chef’s knife.

“... How did you know that?”  
“There was a number on the invitation.”  
“How are the fuck are we related then?!” Bass’s voice became the Chef’s knife that popped the tension bubble.  
Zero just shrugged, “Dunno. He knows though.”  
“....You know what, fuck it I’m done. Let’s go home.”

"But how are we-"  
"I don't want to talk about it."

he did not.

And that was the end of Wily's magical road trip adventure.  
The whole trip lasted about 5 hours in total.

  



	2. I hate you, I hate you, I hate that you don't hate me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I hate you."  
> "Why do you hate me?"  
> "..."

  


“Woah?! You guys are dating?!”

It was a perfectly partly-cloudy day. The sun was shining with the exception of when it disappeared behind a cloud and the world below was covered in shade. The birds chirped and the ground was still damp the morning’s dew. And the frequent rain.  
It was the perfect time to tell one of your closest friends that you and another of your closest friends have been dating. 

Such was the situation. Axl stared at X and Zero with wide eyes, his chopsticks with his cut up sausage froze in mid-air.  
‘He really didn’t need to look so shocked’, Zero thought. He felt something warm and looked down to see that X had grabbed his hands. It was a simple gesture and an unfamiliar one. Zero didn’t exactly hold hands with people often. It did make his heart skip a beat and his face flush, things he could kick himself for. He muttered a reply, “Yeah.”

“For how long?!” Time resumed and he stuffed his face with the mini-sausage.  
X’s head tilted to the side and his face scrunched up, “Hm… How long has it been Z?”  
“Not very long.” At least it didn’t feel very long. “Maybe… a couple weeks?” he guessed.  
“That sounds about right.”  
Axl, leaned back, eyes closed and hand on chin. “Hmm… I guess it does make sense….. Now that I think about it you guys have been more touchy-feely than usual…” Zero didn’t want to ask what he meant by that. he suddenly started chuckling, “Oh man, Oh man that’s hilarious!”  
“What do you mean by that?” X stole the words right out of Zero’s mouth.  
“Well you know, since Alia likes X, and Layer likes Z-”  
“WHAT?!”  
Zero flinched at X’s sudden outburst. Axl looked confused.  
“You didn’t know what? Literally, everybody knows that.”  
“I-I mean, well, I appreciate Alia a-and she’s been an old friend of mine, b-b-but…” Zero couldn’t help but think how cute X was when his face was all red like that. -”I don’t like her… like that.”  
“Clearly.” Axl snickered. “You play for the other team entirely.”  
“…I thought she liked Gate. She’s always-”  
“That’s just cause they’re in the science club together with Dynamo and… Lumine right?” Axl interrupted.  
“I don’t know how she can stand to be around them.” Zero suddenly said. “I swear, some of them are actually insane.”  
“Lumines a dick.”Zero nodded in agreement.  
So uh, big red-” Axl faced Zero, “What do you think about Layer?”  
“...Well…” he thought for a moment, “...She’s pretty.”  
Silence. Both Axl and X stared at him.

“...That’s...That’s it?”  
“Well… Yeah.”  
“...Nothing else?” X asked.  
“Not really. I like the beauty mark on her cheek and she’s… nice enough I guess.”  
Axl chuckled, “Guess you don’t have to worry about him cheating any, huh X?”  
Zero felt anger inside of him flare up. Was he trying to suggest that he would cheat on X?! He would never, ever-  
“I already know Zero would never do that. “ Oh thank the lord. “Are you… okay with this?”  
“Yeah, I’m cool with you dating.” Axl shoved the last of his convenience store bento into his mouth. “The only bad this now whenever we hang out together I’m going to be the 3rd wheel.” He pouted.  
X smiled, “I promise that won’t happen.”  
“Yeah, yeah, yer gonna get all lovey-dovey and gonna forget about poor, poor Axl and leave him all alone.” he let out fake cries and put his face in his hands. X rolled his eyes and reached over to pat his back. Zero frowned once his hand left his.  
“It’s soooo boring without you guys! This whole town's suuuuch a drag! I wish me and Red were back in the city!” He wailed.  
“If you hadn’t had moved you wouldn't even know we existed.”  
“I guess you’re riiight…” he pouted again. The bell rung, Axl groaned and Zero was half tempted to join him.  
“Ughhhhh, I don’t wanna go back to class…”  
“Come on, art is next, that isn’t so bad.” X helped him up.  
“Ugh, I can’t draw portraits. I can only draw stick figures.”  
“That makes two of us. “ Zero chimed in.  
“Come on!”  
Somehow they made it to their next class on time.

Recently Zero had joined the Kendo club. If you asked him why he wouldn’t really have a reason, but the one he did offer up usually was-  
“I like fighting.” Which was a half-truth? He never was infatuated with it. It just that it seemed to be the only thing he was ever good at. X would disagree.  
He knew that was true.

Zero stared longingly at the vending machine as they walked past together. There wasn’t any way he was going to fish for spare change in it with X standing there. But fuckin' hell he was thirsty.  
“Hm? You thirsty Z?” X seemed to always know what he was thinking about, either way.  
“I don’t have any money."  
“It’s fine Zero. “ his hand reached into his pants pocket and he pulled out a coin purse. "You getting ramune?”  
“...” he knew that he couldn’t convince X not to get him anything. “Yeah…”  
“I think I’ll have one too. “ X said as he popped the gold coins with a “Z” stamped on the front into the machine.

Soon enough the sound of the marble rattling around in the neck of the bottle ringed through the air. It was always nice to watch the marble pop through and see the soda fizz up. At least, to Zero it was. He sat down on a bench nearby. Its frayed wooden surface was sprinkled over with pink petals from a nearby cherry blossom tree. X sat next to him and stared down the small opening for the glass bottle.

“....I think…”  
“Hm?” Zero looked over and frowned once he saw X’s troubled look.  
“...What is it?”  
“...I think… Rock…” He trailed off again.  
“What about your brother?”  
He took a deep breath. “I think he’s crushing on Bass.”  
Zero blinked. Then he blinked again. Then for a 3rd time.  
“What.”  
“The other day he came into my room, and said he’s been feeling… strange when he’s around Bass.” X’s eyes were straight ahead of him. “What he described… was how I feel when I’m around you.”

Zero’s face turned red. “Oh. Did you… tell him that?”  
X shook his head. “I’m not sure how to tell him that. I don’t think he’s ever crushed on anyone else… He did just turn 13.”  
“Bass is going to turn 13 pretty soon.”  
X just nodded.

Zero took a deep swig from his bottle of ramune and set it down with a hearty “clunk” and a loud sigh. “Poor Rock.”  
“Poor Rock?”  
“Yeah. Out of all the people he could have crushed on, my brother is by far the worst.”  
“That can’t be true. He wouldn’t fall for someone that had no good in him at all.” X objected.  
“I live with the guy and I’m saying there’s no good in him.”  
“There must be at least one time he showed that there’s good in him.”  
Zero thought about it. Was there ever a time he did?  
“...One time he gave me 3 slices of pizza. “  
“See?” he smiled.  
“Still. Bass hates him.” Zero reminded.

“I don’t think he hates Rock. I think he WANTS to hate rock.”  
“Why would he want to hate him?!” Zero almost shouted in disbelief.  
X finally looked back at Zero. “I don’t know. I don’t live with him. Why would he?”  
The branches of the trees waved in the wind. A wind chime could be heard. He understood.  
“Wily.”  
“Most likely,” X said with a sad smile.  
“...He doesn’t really care what Wily thinks.”  
“Maybe it seems that way… But he probably cares a lot more than you think. In fact…” his hand brushes against the side of Zero’s face. He looked back at him, awestruck.  
“...I think you care a lot more than you want to admit to.”  
Another long moment of silence. Zero held X’s hand in place.  
“...I don’t know why you think that but… I guess.”  
X leaned forward. Zero watched silently as he came closer and closer, and soon enough…

The world melted away.

Suddenly, he found himself not caring about much of anything at all. Not about Rock, or Bass, or Vile, or the money, or how they were in public.  
He only cared about how soft X’s lips were. How warm they were… How... loving everything felt-

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” Zero nearly jumped out of his skin and X looked pale as a sheet, they quickly pulled away.  
Bass.  
He stared at them dead, hunched over, and his fists scrunched up into a ball. He looked ready to throw a punch.  
“I-I’m telling Wily you’re gay!” Zero jumped up from the bench, the bottle of ramune was knocked off and cracked as it fell to the ground, spewing out all of its contents. X flinched at the noise. Zero felt him reach out to grab his jacket, but he didn’t care.  
“BASS IM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!” Zero screamed at him, fury coursing through every vein in his entire body. His hands twitched, longing to grab his throat and squeeze it until he was on the brink of passing out.  
“ZERO!” X yelled in desperation, however, Zero only focused on what was in front of him.  
Bass booked it, his legs moving faster than Zero had ever seen them go before. Zero ran after him, His legs pushed against his earth, his heartbeat hummed and thumped, and his golden locks flowed behind him. Through the streets, and the dizzying alleyways and the never-ending lines of houses and bushes. He rounded a corner, and he was gone.  
Disappeared from sight.  
“GODDAMMIT!” in his blind fury, a new hole appeared in the wall.

Bass sighed.  
“Thank fuck, I finally lost him…” He sighed. Looking around his surroundings…  
“Fuck.”  
...He realized he was lost.  
Seriously where the hell was he? There was a frayed wooden shack selling what seemed to be candy and various treats. The wood may have been brown at one point, but it was bleached grey from the sun. Nearby, was an almost run down playground. The sign that said “ようこそ” was stained with mysterious dark stains down the front, well mysterious to him, what was it mold? It looked almost haunted. He did not feel “welcomed” at al The plastic slide, bright yellow in color, along the side was also covered in the dark moldy stuff. He was pretty sure the rest of the playground was as well.,  
He needed to get back home. Pronto.

“This tastes so good!”  
The voice belonged to a guy- he didn’t give a shit what his real name was. What he did know that has bright ginger-orange hair, geek freckles, blue eyes, and his nickname was “Cut.” Usually, he was around Rock-  
And there he was. 

His light brown hair was slightly tousled by the wind. It almost shined in the sunlight, it was so thick and… glossy almost. His pale skin had a healthy glow to it and his white teeth sparkled when he smiled. His eyes were an intoxicating ocean blue and Bass sometimes found himself staring into the depths.

He hated it. He wanted to pull his hair right out of its scalp and shove his hair into the dirt until it was dry and brittle like his. He wanted to kick and punch and scratch at his skin, deep enough so his soft skin was covered in stitches. He wanted to stick his thumb into his eyes as he socked him right in the face. He wanted his face to be so swollen until his eyes would be impossible to see.  
He felt his fists clench and his dirt-stained nails dig into his skin. God, he hated how happy he looked…

Their eyes met.

His smile grew, his eyes sparkled, and he waved.  
“Hey Bass!”  
He saw cut elbow him and whisper a “dude what the heck?”  
But he also saw Rock wave him off. 

Did he want his face kicked in that bad? Why would he call him over like that? Does he want to die?

Fine then. 

Bass walked over to them.  
“What do you want?”  
“I was just saying hi. “ He chirped, chirped, yeah, chirped just like a bird.  
Bass scowled, “Do you want to die, is that it?”  
“Quit being such a jerk!” His head whipped over to the orange one. Cut gulped and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, nervous wasn’t he? Good. That's how it should be.  
“What did you just say to me?” Bass snarled at him.  
“Y-You heard me! Quit being a dick!”  
“Cut!”  
“What?! He is!”  
Rock sighed. “Why can’t we all just get along?”  
“I can get along with people. Just not him.” Cut lifted himself up from off the bench and ran off.  
“Cut!” Rock yelled after him. “Where are you going?!”  
“I need to go back home anyway!” Cut yelled back, “See you later!” He disappeared from sight.

“...”  
“....”  
“You want some gummy bear-” Bass snatched the bag out of his hands, he probably would have slapped them out of his hand if he thought longer about it, but he was already eating some when he realized Rock was giggling.  
“Shut up!”  
Rock just smiled. “I’m just happy you took them. “  
“Don’t get any ideas. I just wanted the bears, it doesn’t mean anything else, and as soon as I’m done imma kick yer ass,” he grumbled.  
Rock’s smile faltered a bit. “We can get along can’t we?”  
“...Shut up.”  
“I’m serious Bass, I don’t want to fight you anymore. Why do you hate me? Did I ever do anything to you? X and Zero get along don’t they?”

Bass rolled his eyes. He wanted to say that this is one of the reasons why the annoying fucking questions.  
He was just so.  
Fucking.  
Annoying.

“They get along too well. I saw them kissing earlier.” Just thinking about it wanted to make him puke. Rock hardly seemed surprised.  
“I’m not asking to be like that Bass. I just want to be friends.”  
Bass tsked, “I’m not interested. I hate you, and I will hate you.”  
“But why?”  
“...I’m leaving,” he said, and threw down the bag of candy, leaving Rock stunned.

The only problem with that was he still didn’t know how to get home. The sun in the distance was lowering itself, and the world became a ball of orange light. Bass squinted and cursed. Damned sun getting in his eyes. He figured if he stumbled around enough he’d make it to the house, even if that took a while.

It wasn’t until he was standing in front of Rock again he realized he was walking in a circle.  
“Uh… Are you lost…?” Rock inquired.  
“No, shut up.” Bass snarled and walked off again.

GodDAMMIT, he walked in another circle.  
“...” Rock stared at him.  
“...Fine, fine. Do you know the way home?” Rock’s face lit up and he leaped to his feet. “Sure do! I go here a lot ‘cause Cut and his brothers live near here.”  
“I don’t care,” Bass said dryly.  
“...If you don’t care then I guess you just walk home yourself.”  
Bass felt himself prickle up, “You wouldn’t dare!”  
“I might show you the way if you ask nicely though.” Rock teased.  
Bass gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. How dare the little bitch take advantage of him! He had half a mind to beat it out of him, but he knew from experience that it probably wouldn’t work in his favor.  
He didn’t see any other options…  
“...Show me the way…”  
“Show me the way what?”  
“...PLEASE.” he choked out. Goddammit, he had him in his hands like a defenseless animal.

Rock smiled obliviously, innocently, “Okay! Follow me!”  
Reluctantly, he did. It felt weird for him to just follow him around, staring at the back of his head. Was his hair black or dark brown?

“Why are you so desperate to be a friend?”  
Rock looked behind back to Bass, “well… I just don’t want to hate me anymore.  
“...well I do. “  
“...but why?”  
He looked away from him and kicked at the dirt. “You wouldn’t understand.”  
Rock stopped in his tracks. “Then…. I won’t stop until I do understand. “

Bass arrived home. At least, what could be called home. Wily was shoving down the trash into their tiny garbage can, trying to fit in as much as he can. Treble was laying on their old and worn leather couch, asleep. He ignored them without so much a grunt as a greeting and went into his room.  
He says room, but it’s a literal closet. There are 5 rooms in the “house” (really it’s a trailer) a living/dining room, a teeny-tiny kitchen (more like a kitchenette), a bathroom, 2 bedrooms, and the closet. His own private living space.  
It can fit his twin-sized mattress well. Any more than that and you’ve reached full capacity. 

Bass flopped onto the mattress, belly first.  
“Surprised you didn’t come in here yelling how I’m gay. “  
Bass didn’t look up, “go away Blondie. “  
“Nah. “  
“You will if you don’t want me to go tell Wily. “ Bass growled.  
“How come you haven’t already?”  
“It’s none of your business. “  
“...” he was silent for a moment.

“You’ll figure it out,” Zero said, then left.

…  
What the fuck does that mean?!?! He doesn’t have to figure anything out! He hates Rock! He hates him because…  
Because…  
It doesn’t matter why. Does it? He just wants to prove that he’s stronger than him.  
And he hate hate hate hate hates him.

  



	3. Rock's invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock is intrested in his brothers relationship and he seizes a possible chance to get closer with Bass.

“-I just don’t get it, Roll. Why does Bass hate me so much?! I keep asking me, and he just keeps dancing around it. The closest to an answer I got was “You wouldn’t understand.” What does that even mean?!”

“You know Rock, I don’t get why you keep bothering him about it. Why would you want to understand a guy that keeps trying to beat you up? Just leave him alone, I’m sick of you both fighting.”  
“Yeah!” Cut * cut* in. “He’s a jerk, and he hates you probably hates you because Wily does.”

It was lunchtime at Chugakkou middle school. A group of four friends, with lunches from home, turned and pushed their desks into each other, so it formed a table as they ate inside of their classroom. The light from the outside illuminated the class with warm light, and a nice breeze ruffled the white curtains. The room was full of light chatter from their other classmates, but most had gone other places around the school to eat.

 

“Isn’t that right Ice?”  
“Huh?”

Ice looked up, and his nose was finally released from his book. He was reading something about the artic most likely. He looked at Cut with his ice blue eyes behind his round, gigantic, coke bottle glasses and brushed aside his white hair. They didn’t look like brothers at all, especially when compared with Cut’s ginger-orange hair and freckles dotted along his cheeks.

“I wasn’t paying attention.” Ice said, a bit flustered.  
“I said, isn’t Bass a jerk?!”  
Ice nodded, “affirmative.”  
Rock sighed and leaned against the table, hand on chin. “None of you get it. There’s just… something about him.”  
Cut made a noise that was halfway between a snicker and a snort- a snork. He snorked. “It almost sounds like you have a crush on him.”  
Rock’s ocean-blue eyes grew wide as dinner plates and nearly popped out of his head. “I-It isn’t like that Cut… At least I-“  
ANYWAY-“ Cut *cut* him off. “What are you all doing this weekend?”  
“Hm… Probably cleaning the house, as always.” Roll mused and twirled her blond locks around her finger.  
“Yeah, don’t really get anything planned.” Rock said, half-thankful he was interuppted before he said anything he would regret later.  
“WELL, look no further for weekend plans! Fire got the weekend off and decided to take us all out to the beach. Let me tell ya, it going to be... Lit."  
Ice groaned, “Really Cut? Really?”  
“You’re going Icey?” Roll asked, “Icey” perked up at her voice, presumably, and his face flushed a bit as he nodded, “Unfortunately. I hate the beach…”  
“I don’t get it!” Cut exclaimed, "what’s to hate about it?!” It was clear they had this conversation before, Rock thought to himself.  
Ice’s face scrunched up. “It’s hot, sand gets everywhere, the water is salty, you can't swim without worrying about the waves, the waters cold, there’s jellyfish that can sting and crabs that can pinch, and-“  
“Jeez! Okay, okay! I get it! But you know, it would be less hot if you took off that parka-“  
“I would die first. “

The table burst into laughter,  
“What?! What’s so funny?!”  
“Oh, Nothing. Just keep being you Icey. “ Roll giggled. Icey buried his face back into his book.  
“The beach sounds like fun Cut,” Rock said. “It’s been forever since I’ve been to one. “  
“Right?! It’s going to be GREAT! I can’t wait!” Cut exclaimed.

“Ah! You guys! We only have 1 minute until lunch is over!” Ice suddenly said frantically, pointing to the clock.  
“Aw sh-”

…

School was done. Done and done. Students could now run out of the building with cheer and go home and enjoy their freedom until the weight of homework and having to come back tomorrow crashed down on them. Most didn’t stick around inside the building and rushed out only to stand around and wait for their friends. The town was small, small enough that there wasn’t a bus system for the school, the few that came to school from out of town walked to the subway on the outskirts. Most were free to go wild with the drug that is youth and waste their parents hard earned cash and allowance money on “Lalinde’s Candy & Flower Shoppe.” 

In a town full of dozens of teenagers, (for some reason) and not many shops close by, this usually was the hotspot that was out before taking the subway into the city and not looking back. Since it’s close to the school, it’s also been a place to get snacks during lunch. The owner of the shop, Noele Lalinde, Rock knew well. She was a “friend” of Light’s and used to work in the same field as him before retiring. Rock suspected the reason was an accident that happened with her daughter, Tempo. If it was, it was based on speculation. He only knew that she was in the hospital for a long time, when they were younger, and she was never the same when she finally released. 

“Hey Rock, can ya spot me some zenny?” Cuts voice plucked Rock back into reality.  
“What? Again?”  
“Pleaaassseee, I just want some Haichiyu, I’ve been craving some all day!”  
Rock sighed and dumped some of the gold coins into his hand.  
“Sweet! Thanks!” He grinned and closed his fists around the coins.

Before walking home, Rock and Cut wanted to hit the store before going home. Roll and Icey waited for them outside. The inside was very small and crowded. Voice clamored against the wooden walls, and the sweet scent of all the merchandise wafted through the air. 

Rock spotted tempo up in the front, she was wearing a forest green dress and her cocoa brown hair was tied up into two pigtails. He selected some gummy candy that read “フルーツグミアンート”　on the front.  
“Hey, Tempo!”  
“Hello Rock.” She responded calmly. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”  
“It has, hasn’t it? Dad’s been talking about inviting you back over again.”  
“He has. Invited us. We've just been busy. Since summer’s almost here, we’ve been making sure we’re ready for all the business that’s going to come in. “  
“Bet you make a lot of money during the summer.” Cut commented.  
She nodded. “Enough to be comfortable. Are you together or separate?”  
“Separate.”

“What took you guys so long?!” Roll exclaimed as they both left the store, Rock rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  
“Sorry about that Roll.”  
“Whatever, Icey and I were having a great time out here anyway.”  
“Oh? Were ya Iiii-cey?” Cut smirked and elbowed Icey a few times, the younger brother scowled and pushed him away.  
“Shut up.”  
“Well, were ya having a good time out here short-stuff?” he teased.  
Ice growled, “Quit making fun of me!”

Roll took Icey’s hand, ignoring the effect it had on his previously pale face, and pulled him away from Cut. “Don’t make fun of his height. He can’t help that! Besides, I like it, he’s cute.”  
Ice buried his face into his hands, and Cut just giggled away like it was the funniest thing had ever seen.

“What’s Bass doing over there?”  
The three looked over to where Rock was pointing. Bass was just... Standing there.  
“weird… What is he doing?” Cut asked.  
“Doesn’t he usually hang out with Quick and the rest of his brothers?” Roll asked.  
Cut was quick to answer, “I heard that Quick beat the snot out of Bass and now none of them like to hang out with him anymore.”  
“Why though?”  
Cut shrugged, “Dunno.”

Rock planted his feet firmly on the ground, cupping his hands around his mouth, he leaned forward-  
“Rock, don’t you dare-”  
“HEY! BASS!”

He could see Bass’s head whip in his direction, he could see a scowl form on his face, and how his arms moved from side to side, aggressively.  
“Seriouslyyyyyy Rock?!” Cut griped at him, and Ice groaned.  
“I don’t think he wants to talk…” Said Roll, she looked concerned.  
“I’m out of here.” Cut marched off, Icey would’ve followed but he nearly died once he realized he was still holding Roll’s hand. She looked back from Ice to Rock, and back to Ice.  
“Be careful Rock… I don’t want to see you come home with a black eye.”  
Rock smiled and nodded. “I’ll be fine.”  
“...Well… Good luck.” She walked off, dragging Ice with her.

Rock looked back, and Bass was scowling at him, as usual.  
“You really want to die, don’t you?” He growled. Rock hardly blinked and offered the bag of assorted fruit gummies as a peace offering. Bass ripped the bag out of his hands and shoved some into his mouth.  
“Your bribery has no effect on me. “ Bass snarled, mouth full of candy.  
“You know…” Rock started, “You keep threatening to beat me up but it’s been a couple weeks since you’ve…” his thoughts trailed off, he noticed his eye was swollen. ZRock thought it looked like a bruise trying to heal. “...Is something wrong with your eye?”

Bass reached up and touched his eye, still scowling. “Quick, that coward sneak attacked me. He knew he couldn’t win a one-on-one fight with me without dragging in some dirty trick-” suddenly he took a deep breath and his jaw clenched. “I mean, buzz off.” 

Rock frowned. Well, that was disappointing, and here he thought he was actually getting through with him. It was the longest he’d talked to him without threatening to break his legs.  
“...Well… I’m going to the beach this weekend… do you want to come with?”  
Bass looked angrily at him but also a tad… confused? He looked at him, and to the side, and back at him.  
“Why?”  
Rock wasn’t expecting that as a response, “huh?”  
“Why should I go?”  
“...” Good question why should he go…? He hates him, he couldn’t say he wanted to hang out, he wouldn’t want to, “uh…”  
A toothy grin formed across Bass’s face and his fangs were out for the whole world to see. “I get it.”  
“You do…?”  
“That’s where you’re wanting to have our FINAL SHOWDOWN! Where we finally prove who the strongest.!”  
What? “Huh?”  
“I’ll be there.” He runs off without another word.  
“....What just happened?”

 

When Rock arrived home, Roll was already in the kitchen preparing dinner. He could see that she was cutting up vegetables and a pot of water was sitting on the stove. Rush, a mutt with fur light in color, ran up to him, panting. Rock patted his head and strokes his hand down his back a few times. His fur was smooth to pet and felt nice. It was just a shame he was shedding so much. Stray strands of fur flew off of him, and Rock cringed internally at all the vacuuming that would need to be done eventually.  
“How was your day rush?”  
Rush stared at him, radiating positive energy that most dogs did.  
“Good? That’s good to hear. Hey, Roll, is X home?”  
“Not yet! “ she yelled from the kitchen. “He says he’s coming over in a bit with Zero! He’s having dinner with us!”  
“Oh, cool. What’s for dinner?”  
“Pasta!”  
“Sounds yummy!” he yelled and then climbed upstairs with the thump of his feet. It was upstairs he finally heard Beats tweeting from his cage in the living room. Tango was nearby, eyes closed and asleep on the couch. Rick passes her by and gently rubbed the top of her head, he orange fur was always so so soft. She opened one eye and closed it back. He could hear Beat chirping from the other room and paid him a visit.  
“Hey there Beat.”  
The white and blue parakeet chirped and tweeted, and Rock opened the cage door and Beat flew out, landing on top of his head, still singing. He reached up to stroke his fingers and went into his room.

Over the years his room hadn't changed much. On the right side was a white desk with papers and various desk ornaments and a few Gundam models that faced the window. Next to it was his dresser and a small “walk-in” closet (it was too small to actually walk into). On the left side was his bed with blue bedspread and crisp white sheets. It was messy and one of his pillows laid on the floor. He made a mental note to fix it before Zero came over and his eyes brushed over the pictures on the walls. One was of Cut and him playing in the sandbox when they were younger. Another was of Roll winking at the camera with an arm around him and Ice. His favorite picture was a family portrait. 

It was from several years ago, and he couldn’t remember the exact moment it was from. It had to be from early summer, as they were all wearing yukata. Roll was a pretty pink and red one with a sakura pattern. She looked about 5 or 6. Light had a hand on her shoulder and was staring into the camera, his eyes twinkling. The tips of Rock’s fingers touched the face of who was next to him.  
Blues. He only had one other picture of him, and that was from right before he left. How old was he now? 15? 14? Something like that. It’s been about two years and he ran away when he was… 12? Rock pondered Light’s words,  
“He’ll come back in his own time.”  
Was that true? Would he ever come back?  
He looked happy in the portrait. He wasn’t smiling a big toothy smile, a photo smile, it was a genuine one. He could tell by the fact that his dark shades, his spiky brown hair, and even his bright red yukata all seemed to be smiling.  
X was standing in front of him. He did have a big toothy grin, but Rock suspected it was because of the hand he was holding, just out of frame. If he looked closely he could see just the hint of blonde hair.  
His eyes stared at his younger self. Being fraternal twins Rock was the same age as Roll, if not just a bit older. People were always surprised when they said so. It was possible for twins to have different eye and hair color, the internet said so. Yet they always looked shocked. But besides that, It wasn’t his shy smile or his ocean-wave patterned yukata that caught his attention. no, it was who he was standing next to.  
Bass. His black hair with that one blonde streak, and his worn clothes, he looked so nervous, but there he was. He didn’t look angry, he wasn’t trying to pick a fight, he was there. Like they were friends.  
They were friends. Something had happened between then and now, and he didn’t know what. He couldn’t remember what it was, and Bass wasn’t going to talk about it.  
Maybe he couldn’t remember either. 

Either way, this was the reason why he tried so, so hard to make up and be friends with him. Bass wouldn’t be able to understand that. He would take the picture right out of his hands and rip it up. There’d be no use in showing him.  
The bell rung.  
“I’ll get it!”  
Rock jumped up and started making the bed in a hurry.

That was Monday. On Tuesday Zero came over for dinner again, and both times he horked down the food so fast X had to slap him on the back.  
“Slow down! The food isn’t going anywhere!” Roll told him both times. The first time she smiled and even laughed a bit. The second time, she looked plain worried.  
Both times Zero muttered an apology and ate his food at a reasonable pace, and both times he sped back up, and both times he asked for seconds and then thirds.  
It’s like he never ate food before.  
After they ate, they went upstairs, into X’s room.

Rock wondered if what Bass said about them kissing was true. He’d like to think X would have said something about it by now, he really would like to, considering the fact that they were siblings. Maybe not though. Should he bring it up?

Wednesday arrived, and Zero joined them for curry and rice. For the third time, Zero chocked down a serving and X had to slap his back.  
“Hey X?”  
“Hm?”  
They all stared at him. Zero and X and Roll. He swallowed, might as well get it over with…  
“Um… are you... doing well in school?"  
He internally slapped himself and berated himself. "How are you doing in school?" Really? It wasn't enough to back out at the last second asking them, but he just had to sound like an absolute dweeb in the process. Great. Really.  
They blinked at him. Zero did end up answering,  
"Terrible."  
"Oh."  
"You are?"  
Zero swore, he made the mistake of saying that in front of X, who looked at him disappointedly.  
"Zero."  
"X."  
"Zero."  
"What?"  
"I know you could do better."  
He grumbled something about it being bullshit and stuffed his face with more food.

Thursday came and all Cut talked about was typing to the beach on Saturday. Ice seemed as apathetic as usual, but it wasn’t lost on Rock how he perked up when Roll talked about the cute new swimsuit she was going to wear. Roll really was too innocent for her own good. Thank goodness Ice was a good guy.

“Oh by the way,” Rock came out of his thoughts and jumped back into the conversation, “Are any of your other brothers coming? I haven’t seen Elec since he started high school. “  
“Don’t bring him up. He’s been acting like an ass ever since."  
Ice nodded, “I wish he’d just move out already. It’s bad enough having Fire and Guts boss us around all the time.”  
“Y-You don’t-”  
“You don’t really mean that,” Roll interrupted. “They’re only sticking around because they love you. Who else would take care of you? Both of you aren't old enough to hold a job like they are. I’m sure they would love to move out and live their own lives, but if they did that, how would they know you were being fed and had a roof to live under?”  
She picked up a plastic spoon and scooped right into her lunch. “Besides, think about how hard it was for them. They had to grow up on their own. Without any big brothers to boss them around.”  
They were stunned into silence. 

Friday arrived. If you thought he was annoying on Thursday, he was just a blabbermouth. Ice looked more than fed up, to say the least.  
“Thank goodness it’s Friday. “ Rock thought. Going to the beach was fun on its own. Going to the beach with his two best friends was even better. Going to go to the beach with Bass?  
That was nerve-wracking. If all was well, it would be a few steps closer to reuniting their lost friendship. If not…  
Well…  
He might as well give up. But somehow he doubted that even if it didn't end up well he would give up.

Still, Rolls' enthusiasm was infectious and he couldn’t help be even just a little itty bitty bit excited.  
“This swimsuit is adorable!” She held up a 2-piece suit, light pink in color with ruffles. Rock didn’t have much to say on it, so he just agreed.  
“Yeah, cute. “  
Roll frowned. “You think Icey would like it?”  
“Huh?” Now that he could answer. “I mean, yeah but… why do you care what he thinks?”  
“N-no reason! I just want to look nice!”  
Both of them were too oblivious for their own good. The mantra “It’s none of my business, it’s none of my business” repeated in his head in a steady rhythm and he didn’t bring it back up.  
They’ll figure it out, he hoped.

Saturday arrived. As soon as Rock lifted his head up from his pillow his phone was bombarded with texts and calls from Cut. With a sigh, he picked up his phone and answered his latest call.

“Good-"  
"GOOD MORNING ROCK!" Cut screamed at the other end. Rock winced.  
"Could you please calm do-"  
“I CAN’T!”  
He heard a muffled shut up in the background.  
“I seriously can’t calm down! I’ve been thinking about it all fuc-”  
“LANGUAGE!”  
Rock recognized that voice, “Is that Elec?”  
“Yeah, he’s coming with us, unfortunately.”  
He heard another yell in the background and Cut cursed. “I’ll see you later.” and he hung up.  
Once Rock accepted the fact he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep, he resigned himself to throwing on a t-shirt and shorts and headed downstairs to get some food.

Roll was up. She was already frying something, it sounded and smelled like bacon. To his surprise, and delight, LIght was sitting at the kitchen table, with a cup and coffee and a newspaper clutched in his hands.  
“Good morning!”  
Light looked at him and smiled. “Good morning Rock.” he reached out a hand and ruffled his hair. Rock happily let him do so.  
“Roll told me that you’re going to the beach with Cut today.”  
Rock nodded, “Mm-hm! Oh, I guess I should’ve asked first… Sorry.”  
He chuckled and ruffled his hair again, “It’s fine. I would have said yes anyway. I’m sorry that I’ve been too busy with work to spend time with you.”  
“Why have you been so busy?” Roll inquired from the kitchen.  
“Unfortunately, I’ll have to tell you later. Once everything is settled out….”  
“Sounds complicated.”  
Light’s eyes twinkled, “Don’t worry about it. When are you leaving?”  
“At twelve.” He checked the clock, it was only 10:30.  
“Strange, usually X is up by now.” Rock nodded in agreement, it was strange. Sometimes he’d wake up even earlier than Roll. Rock was always last to wake up, there were days he had to be woken up before the afternoon hit.  
“I’ll go wake him up.” He sat up from the kitchen table and walked back upstairs, quietly over to X’s room.  
He gently opened the door.

 

He ended up not waking him up at all. His mouth was open, and he was ready to yell for him to get up, but then he saw golden threads snaking up the bed and attached to Zero, who was…  
Cuddling him? It was especially surprising considering he hadn’t seen him come in. Did he sneak in? At least they were both dressed. He probably wouldn’t be able to look X in the eye ever again if that was the case. He let out a squeak of surprised, picked up his jaw from the floor, and quietly closed the door.  
“Where’s X?”  
Rock muttered an excuse before stuffing his face with eggs and bacon.

So that answered his question right well. Last time he'd checked, friends don't cuddle each other like that, and he was 10000000% sure Ice and Cut would never let him forget it if he thought about doing that with them.  
Which he was not.  
Still, he cringed once he realized the odd feeling that was prickling up his spine.  
Jealousy. Such an ugly feeling. But why was he feeling jealousy? He wasn't jealous of X was he?  
Another prickle. He was.  
No chance of him being jealous of him cuddling Zero. No, he was probably making a face just thinking about it; Roll was looking at him funny.  
He wasn't ever good at sorting out his own feelings. They jumbled and tangled and tripped over each other in a mess inside his head. He briefly wondered how X was so good with things like that, he always seemed to know how everybody was feeling before they figured it out himself. He always gave good advice... He always listened... Now he thought about it, he was a lot like Dad. Not that he's any good now. Rock felt like he'd just walked on them while they were actually naked, and he couldn't talk to Light... Rock wasn't interested in outing him before he had the chance. Dad wasn't the kind of person to be mad, in fact, the opposite; it's just X probably would just appreciate being the one who told him first. Probably.

He sighed and shoved more eggs into his mouth. Hoping the rest of the day would put his worries aside and be less complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen;;; This chapter was going to end with them watching the sunset but it was getting close to 5000 words and I hadn't reached the beach scene yet and you know h'what boy, I don't want to take 10 years to upload another chapter after uploading fUCKING nothing new and it being my stupid fuckign brain not happy with this and that and the other. Fuck you brain. Fuck you for making me change the series title twice becuase i thought it was bad. Fuck you.  
> ugh.


	4. The beach and suikawari

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock and the gang play suikawari and Cut eats the sand.

“Beach! Beach! BEACH!”   


Cut ran out of the car as soon as they parked and promptly tripped on some sand and ate shit. Ice rolled his eyes and stepped out as Rock watched him, coughing and gagging and yelling about how some got into his mouth.  
“Cut, don’t die on us before the day even starts y’hear?” Fire yelled out in his surprisingly thick southern drawl. Rock didn’t know how he got that accent, he nor his brothers have ever even been to America. His guess would be those old western movies he went ga-ga over. Fire looked similar to Cut, at least, as similar as they can be. He had freckles along his cheeks, and fiery hair (no pun intended). There were a few differences. His skin was surprisingly paler, and if you looked closely you could see burn marks across his hands and arms. Some were from his job, being a firefighter and all, and some were just from him being stupid. Like the time he threw in a whole thing of lighter fluid into a campfire while screaming on top of his lungs.  
(“Fire, what are you doing?!??!” “BURN!!!!” )   


Really, firemen shouldn’t be such pyromaniacs. He also had long hair, it reached past the shoulder blades of his back, when it was windy out it kinda almost looked like his head was on fire if you squinted enough. Fire was the second oldest out of Cut and Ice’s brothers, 20 in age, and Elec, who stepped out after him was fourth oldest, being 15 and right behind Bomb who was 17. Elec didn’t look like a lot like any of his brothers, he was the only one with jet-black hair and, if Rock was honest with himself, probably the best looking out of all of them. His skin was flawless and his face was handsome. Rock only admired him as one admires a museum painting (or so he told himself) but he was a very lovely painting indeed. If Roll agreed with him, she didn’t show, as she was already holding Ice’s hand and making him pass out from something that wasn't heat exhaustion; surprisingly. He really needed to take that parka off. Rock made a mental note to make sure he was at least hydrated, so he didn’t die of heatstroke. 

“Rock.” Oh, he was still staring at Elec. He felt his face grow red. “H-hey Elec! I-it’s been a while since I’ve seen you uhm, hows your first year going?”

He thought it was interesting how in America junior high went on for three years and high school went on for four, while it was the opposite in Japan. Goodness, he really needed to get his mind on track.

“It’s been fine,” Elec said disinterestedly, smoothing out his hair (which really didn’t need it.)  
Running out of things to talk about, Rock said probably one of the stupidest things he’s ever said, “Get a girlfriend yet?”  
While he was dying of embarrassment at the stupid question, Elec scoffed and said: “Hardly any of them are good looking enough for me to even consider.”  
“Looks like you haven’t changed.”  
“You seemed not have changed either. Go ahead and run off with them already.”  
While Rock was lost in space and staring at Elec, Roll managed to convince Ice to take his parka off. A feat that truly was remarkable and would impress the bravest of warriors. She then had already changed into her pinky-dinky swimsuit that made Ice stare at the sand a more than usual.  
“Hey, wait for me!” Rock ran after them, leaving Elec and Fire to lay down a few towels and put up a beach umbrella.  
Cut devilishly grinned once he saw Rock running at them and booked it, Rock ran after him and became a game of chase, like they were both 7. Rock didn’t catch him, and the game ended when they both were too out of breath and collapsed into the hot sand. Looking around, the beach didn’t have too many people around. There were a few groups clustered around, but it wasn’t as crowded as it would eventually be. 

“I wonder when Bass is going to show up.”  
Cut swore loudly, “I forgot he was coming. Damn. Did you even tell him where it was?”  
“...There’s only one beach close by.”  
“No, there’s that other one." Cut explained, "It sucks though, full of gravel and rocks and stuff. There’s like, no sand and the water is always freezing.”  
Oh. Well.  
“...I just hope he shows up.” Cut looked at him curiously.  
“...Do you like him?” Cut suddenly asked.  
“Yea-”  
“I mean like, like him. “  
Before he could answer, a blur of black knocked Cut to the ground (“Ow!”) and landed on top of Rock, he grunted and stared up to a pair of ruby red eyes. Instead of thinking “Oh y god Bass is going to kill me.” he thought, “Oh my god his lips are so close.” a thought that froze him where he was. He thought, “wait what” and then Bass socked him in the face. It didn’t hurt so much as it shocked him, and Bass was pulled off of him, screeching and flailing.

Oh, it’s Zero. “LEGGO OFF ME BLONDIE!”  
“Not until you promise to behave yourself.”  
“IM HERE TO FIGHT HIM!”  
“I hardly doubt that’s why he invited you,” Zero growled.  
“LET GO OFF ME!” He wailed.  
Zero looked highly irritated, his teeth gritted and his eyebrows furrowed with concentration and he grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his pack.  
“OW! OW! OW!”  
“Say, uncle!”  
“UNCLE UNCLE UNCLE!” Bass screeched and flailed around some more, Zero dropped him into the sand like a hot potato. He growled and spat on Zero’s shoe.  
Uh oh.

Rock watched as his fits clenched until his nails dug into his skin, and his eyes narrowed into a glare that left Rock’s soul screaming, and it wasn’t even directed at him.  
“Zero.”  
And he watched at the sound of X’s voice made his anger dissolve into nothing. He still gave Bass one last dirty look and left. X dragging him, of course.

Huh.  
“Fuckin’... Gay-ass....” Bass scoffed and looked back at Rock.  
“You didn’t invite me for a fight?”  
Rock shook his head. He wasn’t sure why he thought that still.  
“Then why did you ask?”  
“...To hang out,” saying it out loud made Rock feel very very very very stupid. His voice sounded small, and he felt small. And stupid.  
Bass’s eyebrows shot up and quickly came back down into an unreadable expression. “Huh.”  
Huh.  
Desperate for a topic change, Rock asked the first question that popped into his head. “Why is your brother here?”  
Bass grimaced. “The fucking old man told him to bring me here. Fucking asshole. “ Rock was silent for a moment, and while he was thinking Bass stood up. “Fine. “  
“Fine?” He asked.  
“I’ll break your legs later.” Well, that wasn’t very comforting. He guessed it was better than what he would usually say. Still, he felt confused and Bass picked up on it. He groaned.  
“I mean I’ll hang out or whatever the fuck you mean by that.”  
OH! Oh! Now that he wasn’t expecting at all. He felt his ears burning and his heart thumping with excitement. A silly grin formed on his face, and he felt just as goofy.  
“R-really?”  
“Ugh.” He could see distaste on his face. “This doesn't fuckin' mean we’re “friends”- he made air quotes, "-suddenly.”  
That was enough for Rock, and he still smiled. “Right. What do you want to do?”  
Bass was silent. Very out of character for him, Rock thought. eventually, he shrugged.  
“Um… We can-”  
“OI! ROCK!” He saw Bass flinch and looked behind him. Cut was waving his arms at him, and beside him were Roll and Ice. Rock waved back at him and grabbed Bass’s wrist- Who promptly snatched it away and growled.  
“What the hell are you doing?”  
“Hm? Oh, wouldn’t it be fun for all of us to hang out together?” Rock’s ocean blue eyes sparkled like the sun shining on the waves.  
Bass looked at him funny, opened his mouth closed it, looked up at Cut who was tapping his foot impatiently, and back at Rock.  
“Why?”  
Rock blinked. “Why?”  
“...Nevermind. “  
“COME ON! FIRE’S GOT A WATERMELON!”

“Watermelon?” Bass’s face read an expression Rock had never seen on him before. It was cute.  
Cute?  
“Yeah, watermelon!” Rock exclaimed, ignoring another strange thought.  
“...I’ve never had watermelon,” Bass mumbled under his breath.  
“Never?!” He gasped.  
“Do you have any idea how expensive watermelon is?” Bass sneered at him. He swallowed, “N-No I don’t.”  
“4,000 Zenny.”  
“F-four thousand?!”  
“Do you really think Wily would shell out that kind of money for some fucking fruit? He doesn’t buy anything that isn’t canned or frozen.” he rolled his eyes and started walking off.  
“H-hey where are you going?!”  
“I want watermelon.”

 

Fire had a singular, perfect watermelon on a towel, a wooden bat, and a white, crisp, blindfold.  
“Jeez what took you so long?!” Cut yelled.  
“S-sorry-”  
Cut’s face turned into a sour expression, “don’t tell me-”  
Rock can feel the sweat drip down his face in nervousness as he put a hand on Bass’s shoulder (which he slapped away) “B-Bass wanted to eat some watermelon with us.”  
Roll stared at him. Ice looked at him like he was crazy, and Cut’s jaw was on the floor. Fire seemed to be oblivious of this, “Great more the merrier! Who wants to be first?”  
“Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me!" Cut forgot about Bass and shot his hand up in the sky, like his life depended on it.  
“Fine. Elec, tie this around his face and spin ‘em around.”  
Elec rolled his eyes, grumbled something and did so. Rock watched Bass’s expression from the corner of his eye.  
“Ow! OW! You’re tying my hair!”  
“Stay still!” Elec griped back at him. Once he managed to untangle the blindfold from his tangerine-colored hair, he took his shoulders and started spinning him around. Roll and Ice started counting the number of spins and Rock jumped in.  
“6! 7! 8! 9! 10!”

Cut stumbled with a large smile on his face, “Woah! Woooooah!”  
“Here’s the bat.” Cut reached his arms out and groped out the wood grain and eventually took it from Fire’s hands. Stumbling forward, the bat raised high as he walked in the completely wrong direction.  
“Left, left!” Roll shouted out directions at him first.  
Cut changed into another completely wrong direction.  
The rest of them started yelling at him, Bass didn’t join in, Rock noticed, but he still shouted with them.  
“Right! Right! Left! LEFT!”  
Cut swung and missed the watermelon by just a hair. They all groaned.  
“So close!”

“This is stupid.” Rock’s ears perked up at Bass’s voice and he chuckled, just a little bit nervously.  
“I guess. It’s more fun when you’re the one with the blindfold on. Wanna try?”  
Bass looked at him. Then at Elec untying the blindfold and Cut collapsing in the sand, and back st Rock.  
“Yeah.”  
“Alright. Oi, Fire!” Bass wants to try!”  
“Fine by me. Oh!"  
"Hm?"  
"I just realized he’s got a music name as you do!”  
“Uh huh.” Rock deadpanned. Random.  
Elec tied the blindfold around him, he flinched a bit which didn’t bode well with Rock but it was better than him socking Elec in the face. He could hear his cries now about his face.  
“I’ll spin myself,” Bass said stiffly, and Elec pulled his arms away; rolling his eyes. Ice and Roll counted the number of spins, but they definitely weren’t as enthusiastic about it as they were last time. Bass snatched the bat out of Fire’s hands and with a few shaky steps, he walked in the right direction, surprisingly. Rock took it upon himself to yell out directions as encouragement, and the rest of his friends mumbled out directions as well.

A few more steps. He was on the edge of the towel the melon sat on.  
“FORWARD! FORWARD!”  
The bat raised above his head and-  
THWACK!  
The melon was split down the middle, and bits of pulpy red flesh spread across the sandy towel.  
There was a moment of silence, usually, there were cheers when someone broke it open, so it felt awkward when Rock stuttered out a “Good job.” Bass ripped the blindfold off his own head and dropped the bat.  
“L-let’s eat!” Cut shouted out.

The awkward atmosphere was remedied when they started chomping on the watermelon. Rock nibbled the chunk he grabbed and watched Bass as he looked and the piece in his hand. Then, slowly inching it towards his mouth and taking a big chomp. His eyes widened and he quickly scarfed down the rest, not even spitting out the seeds.  
“It’s good huh? I like it better when it’s salted. “  
Bass grunted and grabbed another chunk. Taking a bite, and another, and another. Then, he started hacking. Rock slapped his back and a seed flew out. Apparently, the Wily clan had a thing for choking on food.

The rest of the day went on well. Ice eventually got over Roll and her pinky-pink swimsuit, although his face was still a permanent shade of red. Maybe that just from the sun though. Although, it was kinda awkward for all of them to be together. At least, Cut and Ice acted awkward, looking around, fidgeting, acting like Bass wasn’t even there. Rock couldn’t blame them for that, and ultimately, the lot of them split into just Rock and Bass and the other 3 did whatever they wanted. It did feel weird to be with Bass for long periods of time without him threatening him. Apparently, the watermelon mellowed him out a bit. Or maybe not, he thought after Bass got a bit rough and dunked Rock out of nowhere; the water went up to his nose and it stung like nothing else. However, it was almost worth it when he saw his smile. A real smile. It was at his expense sure, but Rock didn’t think there was any malice behind it and his... His laugh. He was actually laughing.

That and his smile took his breath away, and he thought about how beautiful he was when he smiled. The thought rapidly made him cringe. He wanted to convince himself it was just because it was such scarcity for Bass to act like anything than just a spiteful ball of anger and jealousy. The walls he had put up truly were impenetrable Maybe it was because of that Rock was so attracted and, pulled to him. Maybe he wanted to be the one to break down those walls. Explore the sensitive side to him. TO see what made him tick and fix any... irregularities. 

Irregularities…

He didn’t like that thought. Bass, he thought, was not a broken toy train. Or a teddy bear you could sew back up and have good as new. People couldn’t be fixed. They were much more complicated. He knew that much. Maybe this was just how Bass was. His personality. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with him at all.  
He then remembered what Cut had asked him.

A couple times they ran into X and Zero. One time there were having fun and splashing water at each other. He looked over and saw that bass was watching them as well. He wondered what he was thinking. 

Eventually, the sun slipped further away and it was nearing the end of the day.

“Hey, Bass!”  
“What?”  
Rock pointed up to a rock (the inanimate kind) near the end of the beach. He’d seen some people climb up and sit on it earlier in the day, which gave him an ingenious idea.  
“Let’s watch the sunset on that!”  
“That’s stupid.” Bass huffed, “Why would I want to do that?”  
“‘Cause… Sunsets are pretty.”  
He huffed again. “I don’t understand a single thought that goes through your stupid idea. “ he started walking off, for the millionth time it seemed like.  
“Where-”  
“Let’s watch that stupid sunset,” he grumbled.

It was beautiful. Not just the view of the sunset. Sunsets are always beautiful. It’s hard to appreciate the orange strokes that licked the sea and bathed it in a multitude of colors; combined with strokes of reds, purples, yellows, and all the colors in between in the sky.  
No, what was beautiful was Bass.  
Seeing him like this, with such a calm expression, his ruby red eyes staring into the distance…. his raven hair ruffled by the wind, his pale skin illuminated by the glow of the sunset…  
Rick knew then he was in love. He was wondering how he didn’t realize until now. Bass seems to try so, so hard to look ugly, but in moments like this, his heart fluttered and he grew warm. In these precious moments, he knew that he was right to say there was more than what met the eye. He knew it was crazy to fall for him. 

“The hell are you staring at?”

But it was too late. His heart knew what he wanted. If the Light family was known for anything, they always followed his or her heart. 

Rock hoped it wasn’t his eyes playing tricks when he thought he looked a lot less angry than usual.  
“You.“  
Bass stared at him then looked back in front of him, muttering a “shut up." Impulse took control of Rock, and before he could consider how awful of an idea it was, he had his arms around him in an embrace. 

It was an awkward hug. Most side-hugs are. It didn’t help that Bass was stiff as a wooden board, making no moves to hug him back. He continued staring into the orb that got smaller and smaller and he almost looked like a statue, with how concentrated he was.  
None of that mattered to Rock. His warmth was almost intoxicating with how nice it felt, and with him this close he noticed he had a nice scent to him. It was very distinct, but he couldn't really describe it. Musky? He pressed his luck and snuggled up to him more, resting his head against him.

Maybe he pressed too far, he thought.  
But Bass didn’t pull away. He didn’t even try to hit him.  
That was serious progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over the past week I had read a craaaappp ton of draco x harry (i'm sorry it was good to get my mind off of fucking moving and airplane and shit) fanfiction and it's starting to make me wonder if I have a pairing type. Maybe not, considering I hate bakugo x deku (no shade to anyone but ew ew ew) It's hard to justify the existance of these kinds of pairings. I mean, what makes a person go from "I hate you," to "shut up and kiss me?" That is also the best part. The build up into that development. It's hard, but you can get creative with it. Unless you get lazy and with the "oh he's different now :)))" route. This doesn't;;; really have that build up;;; like that here, as;;; Rock doesn't;;; hate;;; Bass;;; but the point still stands. Bass is still a little bitch and he probably has too much Katsuki Bakugo in him to be healthy.
> 
> Man I'm going off topic. To people that said they wanted more, I hope this chapter succeeded.


	5. The aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X and Zero become honorary members of the Bass x Rock club with Axl on the fence of joining and-  
> Oh.  
> She’s back.

“Bass has been moping around recently.”  
“Oh really?”

It was lunchtime. It was a nice day so Axl had convinced both of them to sit and eat outside. Stiff black jackets were no longer part of the school uniforms and instead turned into white polo shirts and khaki shorts. According to the school, the warmer months had truly begun.  
“Yeah.” zero murmured into his bento lunch X bought him. He didn’t bother arguing to him about buying it and just started scarfing it down. Axl was munching on his as well.

“Why’s that?”  
He shrugged. “Dunno. He’s refused to talk about it, and he hasn’t left his room since we went to the beach. Wily tried to get him to go to school but he just yelled at him to get the fuck out.”  
“Wonder what’s eating him.” Axl mused aloud. Zero shrugged again.

“Might have to do with the fact that Rock’s gotten a black eye.”  
The effect on Zero was instantaneous. He cursed, loudly, and his fists clenched around his pair of chopsticks. Any tighter and they would snap. “He does?! I swear to god I’m going to kill that son of a-”  
“No, don’t it’s fine.” X’s eyes shined. “He’s figured it out.”  
“Oh.”  
“What are we talking about?” Axl suddenly butted in.  
X’s eyes sparkled some more, reminding Zero of a pair of emerald earrings, and a small smile formed.  
“He’s figured out he has a crush.”  
Zero oh’d again, and Axl nearly choked on his food.

“How’d he figure it out?” Zero asked, head slightly tilted to the side.  
“Out by the beach, while they were watching the sunset together. He said he put his arm around Bass and after about 15 minutes he jumped up, punched him in the face, and ran away.”  
Axl snorted. “That’s hilarious.”  
“That explains why he’s been pouty and moping around. “ Zero sighed. “He’s such an idiot. If he was going to punch him for putting his arm around him, the little shit could’ve at least not send mixed signals. The fuck took him so long for?”  
X looked him with a mischevious glint in his eye.  
“....You can't be serious.”  
“I am.”  
“There is no way.”  
“There is.”

Zero shook his head, “Axl are you hearing this?”  
“I am, and I’m confused to all heck. I can’t read in-between the lines here- wait did you guys go to the beach without me?!” Ignoring Axl, Zero sighed again and looked at X. “There’s no way Bass likes him.” He firmly stated.  
“Maybe not romantically no, at least…” his eyes twinkled, “not yet.”  
Zero looked at Axl in a way that read- “Please tell me you think he’s crazy.” He shrugged, “I mean, I don’t really know much about your siblings other than Bass is a feisty little shit who doesn’t like Rock, but I mean, maybe? Maybe it could happen? But seriously, did you go to the beach without me?”  
X smiled apologetically, “Sorry, it was a last minute thing.”

“Aw come on! You have my number you could’ve called!” Axl whined.  
“I did! You didn’t answer!”  
“Oh my god it’s happening already! I’m already being abandoned so you two can go and make out without me!”  
“If that were true I’d be doing that right now instead of eating with you.” Zero responded X’s cheeks flushed bt Axl seemed to consider this.  
“Alright, you have a good point. What time it is?”  
X took out his phone and checked the time, cheeks still a rosy glow. “11:59”  
“Lunch ends at 12 right?”  
“Yes.”  
“Well, f-”

The next period was considered to be a free period where teachers got lazy and students could pretend to study or if you actually cared you could actually study. Which X, was. Zero was off doodling into his journal, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Axl fiddling with a video game under his desk. Though, if he wanted to be discreet about it he could unplug his headphones. Just saying.

He locked eyes with X. Time was still for a moment. To Zero, places, where they couldn’t be open about their relationship, made his eyes and soft brown curls that framed his face even more breathtaking. X opened his mouth, and before he could say anything;  
“Oi! X!”  
Alia came over, holding a math textbook, a blue covered journal, and a pencil. “I’m having a bit of trouble with the new unit. You know, sin, cosine, and tangent? I have no clue which to use when it comes to these problems. Can you help?”  
X stammered, “u-uh…” he looked at Zero one last time and back at Alia. “Uh, yeah.”  
“Thanks!” she pulled up a seat to his desk and set down her stuff.

Zero had unintentionally quirked an eyebrow at her behavior. It was odd for her to be asking for help since she had always done well in math. Science and math went together like pancakes and syrup, and everyone knew that she was the president of the science club, which was exceptionally known for being full of the towns weirdest.  
Gate was a fucking weirdo. Lumine and his grape hair looking ass was high on the fumes of the city and couldn’t ever pull his head out of his own ass. He didn’t even want to talk about Lumine and that silver-haired fuck headed FUCK.

Okay, maybe some of the anger wasn’t exactly justified, but they all gave him the willies. They all looked at him as if they were analyzing him. Another thing to be toyed and experimented with. Alia really shouldn’t be affiliated with those creeps if you asked Zero. (nobody asked him)  
Then again, someone like X really shouldn’t be around Zero. Look at Alia, she had pretty blonde hair that fluffed around her shoulders and shimmered gold in the sun. Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue, like… they kinda reminded him of this one gem he saw. It was called “sky blue topaz” and her eyes were exactly that. It was cliche to compare eyes to gems but he couldn’t think of anything else.

Still, the point stood, until he realized he also had long blonde hair and blue eyes. But then again, she was a girl. He could be with her without having to worry about Vile or any of his friends jumping you in an alleyway. It was known through the school that Vile was extremely homophobic and most of those associated with him were as well. Vile already made X his target for whatever reason. If he knew...

God just thinking about him made Zero’s blood boil. There were times before where Vile had actually succeeded in picking fights with him. X being the pacifist took it and didn’t fight back. The result? bloodied broken noses, blood coughed out and coating his lips, black eyes, broken ribs, dark bruises, and everything in between.

X shouldn’t have to put up with that nonsense. He shouldn’t have to keep secret relationships and walk home while glancing around and making sure that nobody would be watching them as their hands brushed against each other. He should be with Alia, she was such a sweet girl and she came from a family that didn’t like insulting each other or live in a trailer.

But he didn’t. X fell for him. Zero considered himself to be more lucky than lucky. The luckiest person alive to be with a person like X. but he couldn’t fathom why he would make such a bad decision when he could’ve had Alia instead.

He wondered if he should ask X. But knowing him he would get a lecture instead of a decent answer. Or something about “following his heart.” Bleh. He knew Light liked to spout that kind of baloney, but being around WIly for too long made him too jaded to appreciate such sentiments. But as much as he tried, he couldn’t push the thoughts of doubt from his mind as they walked side by side. 

“...Hey X….”  
“Hm? What is it?”  
“...How do you know that Rock knows? Did he tell you?”  
X paused, "No. I mean, he told me about putting his arm around Bass, and everything fell into place after that. It’s pretty obvious though.”  
“Obvious?”  
“From the way he talks about him. “ X stated as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.  
“...” Zero left that as it was. He didn’t want to hear what Rock had been saying about his cousin. Nothing against Rock, but he might throw up if he heard some gushy shit about Bass.

Arriving at the Light “house” (he swears and up and down and upside down its a fucking mansion) he immediately noticed something different. Firstly Rock was in the kitchen helping Roll. Zero didn’t really think about how Rock was usually nowhere to be seen when it came to preparing dinner, but it became startling obvious how little he helped when he was right beside of her. Knowing X he would probbaly help he rout a lot more if they had gotten home sooner. Zero was quick to see the reason why he was helping, and that was because of who was sitting at the dining table.

“Zero!” Light smiled warmly at him. He froze and swallowed. Light was friendly he knew, but his warm smile and friendliness did nothing good for his stomach that jumbled itself together and was backflipping onto itself. He felt nervous sweat dripping down the nape of neck and his back.  
“Breathe,” he told himself and took a deep breath. X was looking at him worriedly. Pull yourself together, quit acting like you’re here to ask X’s hand in marriage or something.

Well, that fucking made things worse, Zero felt like he punched himself as hard as he could in the gut. His thoughts spiraled out of control, would they get married? Can they get married? Would their relationship last that long? Would he need to ask Light’s permis- BREATHE, breathe Zero!

He sucked in a breath and said a weary, “Hello Dr. Light.”  
“Thomas is fine my boy.”  
Zero had already decided that there was no chance in hell he could call him that but he nodded anyway.  
“Hey, Zero!” Rock caught his attention, his eye was swollen and dark on his left side. “Where’s Bass? He wasn’t at school today.”  
“Oh he’s just acting like an as-” oh shit Light’s there, “-ssssuckie person.” flawless Zero, flawless.  
He frowned. “It wasn’t because of what I did is it?”  
“Don’t feel sorry for him. It’s his fault for sending mixed signals. If he didn’t want your arm to be around him he could’ve said something instead of sitting there and then smacking you in the face.”  
A dramatic gasp was heard and shifted his attention to Roll, “Why would you put your arm around him Rock?!” she sounded almost horrified.  
“I-it just f-felt right! Y-You know there was a sunset a-and… i-it was…” Rock’s eyes darted around the place as he desperately tried to justify himself. 

Dr. Lights were twinkling that same twinkle X’s eyes were exhibiting earlier. They looked at each other and had a full on conversation from just a simple glance.  
“Roll quit teasing your brother. Is dinner ready?”  
She hmph’d, “Yes, it’s ready.”  
“Less thinking more dinner.” Zero’s mind and stomach agreed.

And so, like always, the always that had lasted about 2 weeks, X and Zero went upstairs after dinner into X’s room. His room was average. Full of clean white ikea furniture. He still had that poster of Mega Rockman, the superhero everyone was obsessed with as kids. Zero was sure if he dug around in his closet enough he could find the old action figures of the blue-haired, buff, armored hero. 

That was what made X, X he supposed.

“I see what you mean about it being obvious. It seems that Light feels the same.”  
X chuckled, “You picked up on that didn’t you?”  
“Yes,” Zero answered flatly.  
He hummed, “I hope I can help Rock out. I can tell, he really needs help.”  
Obviously, he thought. Zero gave a brief nod.  
“But I suppose I would have to wait to bring it up, wouldn’t I?”  
Zero shrugged, “Don’t ask me.”  
“Gee, you sure are helpful.”  
Zero smirked, “I aim to please. By the way… have you Uh, told Light yet…?”  
“Told him what?” X blinked.  
“...You know…” Zero wasn’t sure how to phrase it. Their relationship?  
his eyes lit up, “Oh, OH! No, no I haven’t. “  
“How come?” X struck him as the type to tell Light right away.  
“Never been a good time too. I haven’t told Rock and Roll-“ Zero snorted, “-for that reason either. Have you brought it up with Wily?”  
Zero felt his chest tighten, and a lump in his throat formed. “No, If I had I would have already been disowned and kicked out of the-”

”Come here.”  
He obeyed and was rewarded with a hug. No matter times X had hugged him over the years, it still felt awkward each time. He tried very very hard to relax into it, but it took a minute each time. It was a shame because it always felt nice. It always did. He felt very nice, and warm, and he could hear his soft breathing and the drumming of his heart and it was so… peaceful. He couldn't bring himself to think about or worry about anything else. He didn’t even notice they were learning or even inching closer to the bed until X’s head was resting onto his chest, and his golden hair was spread about and tossed on the sheets.

Content. He felt content. His fingers grazed through X’s curls, who sighed and eyes fluttered closed.

Alright.

Fuck the world, fuck Vile (not literally), fuck Alia (also not literally), fuck Wily (AGAIN not literally), fuck everything else, this is all that matters now.

“You know I love you right?” X murmured, as he was on the verge of falling asleep. Zero couldn’t focus on that. His mind nearly exploded, he said the l-o-v-e word, he said it, oh my fucking god.  
It was nearly 5 minutes later when Zero finally, and shakily responded with an “I love you too” but by then X had already fallen asleep.

“X, wake u-”  
Zero’s eyes snapped open and immediately turned to whoever, whatever it was that just spoke. First, it was Rock. He stared at them. Slowly, his face grew more and more red, and once they locked eyes he looked as if he was ready to burst. Second, he realized he was still in his uniform from last night, and X was still resting on his chest. Somehow he hadn’t woken yet. Third, Rock started stuttering,

“U-uh, uhm, I-I’m sorry for not knocking, uhm, i-if it helps I already knew about your uh, r-relationship… “  
Zero blinked.  
“Yeah… Uhm, I-I’m going to close the door now.” Fourth, he shut the door.

And fifth, X stirred awake.

“What is it Z?” He muttered.  
“Rock caught us. He said he already knew. Whatever that means.“ he added.  
“Hm... I need to talk to him later…” He got up, well, he rolled off of Zero, and he already felt 10 times colder.

Zero went to school wearing the same uniform he did yesterday. X couldn’t lend him a uniform, he was skinnier than him for one and shorter. X insisted he spray himself with some deodorant, and now he was going to smell like a cologne factory for the rest of the day. (“better than smelling like a funky monkey” “what the fuck is a funky monkey?”)

The class was always the same. X and Zero always arrived around the same time, a few minutes before the bell rung. At least, that was sometimes for Zero, when he wasn’t late he was a few minutes early. Alia was in the back talking with Layer and Palette, their giggles and tittering could be heard from the hallway. Layer smiled and waved at Zero, Palette nudged her and they all burst into giggles. That’s right Zero nearly forgot Axl said Layer liked him. In all honesty, it didn’t matter much to Zero. As long as she stayed away, he’d be fine.

Speaking of Axl, he was in the back, fiddling with a video game yet again. X went over to gripe at him for it and Zero sat down. The bell rung and the rest of the class quickly filled up, except for one lonesome desk. Vile. That wasn’t a surprise, he was always 20 minutes late for first period.

“Stand.”  
The class stood up once Mr. Signas (Or Signas-sensei) came into the room. He was tall, intimidating, with narrow eyes and dark hair and a broad chest. He was usually fair when he wasn't being a dick. Zero thought.  
“Bow.”  
The class bowed.  
“おはいよございます！”  
“Ohaiyo gozaimashita!” The class responded back. Signas-sensei set down his briefcase and picked up a piece of chalk, writing on the board the assignments for the day.  
“Open your textbooks to page 231, I need a volunteer to read the first page.”  
Nobody raised their hand.

There was a knock on the door, and everybody’s heads turned to the sound. Including Zero.  
“That’s right. I apologize for the interruption, it appears we have a transfer student.”  
Murmurs coarsed through the class. “Settle down.” he snapped at them and opened the door.

Long brown hair.

No way.

Green eyes.

No, no, no.

She’s back.

WHY IS SHE BACK?!

His pencil snapped in half. He could feel himself shaking, and every nerve in his body stood on end.

“Please introduce yourself.”  
She bowed to the class. “My name is Iris. I used to go to school here during middle school. It’s very nice to see you all again.” She smiled. He’s seen that smile, a million times before.  
"You can be seated now." Signas pointed to an empty desk near the back.  
"Thank you."  
She walked past him while going to the back. She briefly glanced at him.  
She smiled again.  
Oh fuck.

 

“Zero, are you okay?” Axl asked.  
Lunch lunch lunch, usually he’d be hungry enough to eat a few dozen horses, but he quite literally had zero appetites. Zero.  
“No.”  
“Who was that girl? You didn’t stop staring at her since she came in.”  
“...”

X sighed. “Iris was… Is it alright if I tell him Zero?”  
Zero mutely nodded. It wasn’t like he could tell him.

“Well… Iris was… Back in the 2nd year of middle school… Iris was a recent transfer from the city.”  
Zero remembered the day he first saw her clearly. She looked very cute in the sailor uniform. The combination of the navy blue skirt and top, and the red ribbon complimented her green eyes and brown hair very nice.  
Wait, shit, he didn’t have a thing for green eyes and brown hair, did he?

“Uh huh.” Axl nodded for X to continue. He took another deep breath, “Zero was smitten immediately.”  
“Wait he-”  
“Yes, she was his first girlfriend. Er, his only one that is...”  
“WOAH! ZERO HAD A GIRLFRIEND?!”  
Zero nodded. He was staring out into the distance. The streets and buildings and homes of the town, and the vauge skyline of the city if you squinted hard enough. He didn't feel like staring at X.

“I would’ve never guessed. What happened? Was there a bad breakup or something?” Axl asked out of genuine curiosity.  
“...Iris has an older brother, Colonel, he was in his senior year at the time and was planning to go into the military as soon as he graduated. He took care of her since their parents had always been distance, at least, that's what Zero said... So the two were always really close..."  
“Why’s his name Colonel?”  
“Is that really what you’re thinking about right now Axl?” Zero snapped at and turned to him.  
“I’m just saying! No wonder he went into the military, you’d have to with a name like that.”  
“What kind of fucking name is Zero?” He deadpanned.  
“Wait that isn't just a nickname?”  
Ignoring that, Zero continued, “What kind of fucking name is Axl?!”  
“I’m named after Axl Rose! You know, the lead singer of Guns n’ Roses? At least it makes sense. Really, we should be asking what kind of name is X?”

X piped up, “It’s short for Xavier.”  
“Oh.”  
“Can I continue now?”  
“...Yeah.” Axl said after a moment.  
“Colonel and Zero never got along. They were constantly at each other's throats and constantly fought. Zero used to be horrible at controlling his anger and emotions.” Zero stifled at this.  
“He complains about Bass all the time, but really he just has the same anger management issues Zero had. “  
“Get to the point,” Zero mumbled.  
“Right… One day they had a really bad fight. “  
A "bad fight" was one way to describe it. He never felt rage and fury like he had during that fight, and probably won’t ever again. With every hit and kick and bite and scratch, he truly felt the urge to kill him.  
He didn’t realize it until after, but if Iris hadn’t shown up he really could have killed Colonel. But maybe that would have been better than…  
“He couldn’t control himself. He attacked… He attacked Iris after.”  
Than that. She fought back. Why did she fight back?

There was a long long moment of silence.

“Zero, you're a moron.” Axl finally said.  
“I don’t need you to tell me that. I tell myself that every time I wake up in the morning.”  
“Just… why?”  
“I wish I knew why. To be frank, I’m an idiot and every time I think about her.., I just… Fuck, I still feel guilty. I didn’t get to talk to her before they moved away. I’m the biggest jackass to ever exist.”  
“Sure are," Axl joked.  
“Not funny Axl.” X shook his head at him.  
“...Sorry…" He grumbled, slightly deflated. "But, maybe they’re over it? I mean this happened second year of middle school right? that means that was what? 4, 5 years ago?”  
“I don’t think that's the kind of thing you get over Axl,” Zero grumbled.  
“Maybe, but it’s worth a shot right?”  
‘...What do you think X?”  
“I think Axls’ right.” His emerald eyes twinkled. “It’s worth a shot.”  
"If you feel so guilty you could try apologizing." Axl reminded.  
"That's right.  
Zero's stomach tightened at this, and his throat closed up, gritting his teeth he mumbled a "maybe" but he knew there wasn't any way he could even talk to her.

 

The day ended with Zero avoiding Iris like the plague. It was surprisingly easy, considering she hadn’t acknowledged him except for a few smiles and side glances. Which made him turn away and guilt build up even more in his throat.  
To make matters worse, X had asked him to go home after he ate dinner with the Light family (including Rock who looked away every time their eyes met) so he could talk to Rock. It was disappointing, he was starting to really look forward to their cuddle sessions.

“The fuck are you doing here? I was hoping you moved out for good.”   
“Fuck off old man.” Zero griped at him as soon as he came through the door.  
“Oh, by the way, your job- or should I say OLD job called. Said you haven’t shown up for a couple weeks, you’ve been fired.”  
In a moment of blazing fury, he clenched his fist and struck the nearest wall. He forgot all about his job after getting a taste of home cooking for the first time in years. Wily looked unimpressed  
“Get ahold of yourself.” he snapped and then mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he flipped through the mail.

“Are you still pouting Bass?” Zero stared at the shut tight closet door. He heard a muffled “fuck off” from the other side and left it alone.

“Hey Rock?”  
Rock jumped from where he was sitting at his desk and turned around to look at X.  
“U-Uh… Yeah, X?”  
He smiled and sat on Rock's bed. "You saw us this morning?"  
"Uh..." Rock looked away, face growing red, "...Yeah."  
"So you know?"  
"I, Uh, already knew. The day of the beach...."  
X nodded. "You aren't upset?"  
"NO! N-no, he stammered, "Uh, why... would I?"  
"Just making sure." X smiled sweetly. "So, do you have anybody you like?" He asked innocently.  
"Uh... You wouldn't be asking if you didn't already know..." His face turned a darker shade of red.

"You're right about that. But I don't know who it is." He fibbed, only a little bit to make him feel better. He was already looking a bit mortified that X knew about his crush. Nothing wrong with a little white lie if only to move things along.

"...Um... Well... Uh... You'll probably think it's stupid... I know what Roll would be saying if she knew, she'd call me an idiot."  
"There's nothing stupid about falling in love." That was honest.  
"...You know Bass."  
"Mm-hmm."  
"...That's who."  
"..." X sighed, "Roll would probably call you stupid if she knew. Why do you like him?"  
"Er... Well... There's a lot of reasons why... It's just, sorta... hard to explain."  
"Well, as long as you know them."  
"it doesn't matter the reasons." Rock sighed, "He hates me."  
"It didn't look that way when you were together on the beach."  
"H-He was just tolerating me..."  
X thought about it for a moment. "Actions speak louder than words. If he was really just tolerating you he wouldn't do half of those things he was doing.  
"...But... he didn't come to school because..." Rock stared at the ground.  
He waved it off, "But nothing. You know what he will get over it and come to school without even bringing it up."  
"....I guess you're right X. It just doesn't seem like he'll ever be interested in having a conversation with me without threatening to break something..."  
"....You know... When I first met Zero, he was the exact same way."  
He looked up. "Really?"  
"Really. We were only in kindergarten, but he acted like he hated everyone and everything. On the first day, he punched me in the arm and the teacher had to pull him off of me."

"Then...how did you become friends?" He asked with wide eyes.  
"Patience. I noticed he never had anything to eat during lunchtime. I offered him some lunch every day and eventually, we clicked."

"Eating lunch together..." Rock gasped, his eyes nearly popped out of his head and he jumped right out of his seat. "That's it! Why didn't I think about it before? I should invite him to lunch! Thanks for the advice X!"  
X blinked a few times. He hadn't meant to give advice just yet but Rock deemed it useful. He smiled, "You're welcome. Just tell me what happens when you do."  
"I will!" He sprinted out of his room, most likely going to pack his lunch right away.

Rock really is growing up. 

Hopefully, the Iris situation doesn't spiral out of control for Zero. Maybe he shouldn't have sent him home... Oh well.  
Whatever happens, he'll be there for him.  
No matter what...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After getting a particular amazing comment I was in a writing frenzy that lasted 2 days and nights. This is the longest chapter, and is probably the most uneventful. I mean, all things considered. Well, maybe not. This is a transtion chapter to shift everything into the next chapters (there isn't any end in sight tbh). In the meantime, we got some fluff, there's a new bitch with brown hair and green eyes, and shit is going to get a bit harry in the ZeroX department. Meanwhile, everyone is left wondering where the actual fuck is Blues (no they aren't). Will Bass ever quit being a bitch?
> 
> Probably not no.
> 
> I b arely watvhed any youtube and now i willwatch losts of anume FUCK MYSTERIOUS GIRLFREIND X IS SO WEIRD WHAT HE FUCK IS UP WITH THE WHOLE DROOL THING?! JUST SHOVE EACH OTHERS TOUNGES DOWN UR THROAT GOD.  
> i eeed nappu.


	6. The boys go to New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axl burns his tounge on some ramen, and the boys go out for a night on the town (not in New York)

“Hey, since you’re so stressed out about Iris, how about we have a guys night out!”

That was the idea Axl had, one average day during lunch. It was getting hotter, and there was now 29 days before school would finally, finally, FINALLY be out for the summer. Zero was exhausted, he was having several sleepless nights and when he finally did get to sleep, he would wake up with only enough time to get clothes on and run to school, so frequently he had unbrushed hair and dark circles under his eyes.  
X pushed his head into his lap and was feeding him from the same pair of chopsticks that touched his lips. Normally Zero’s face would be bright red, but he was far too tired to care about what was happening and only thought about how comfortable X’s thighs were, surprisingly.

“What's this about a guys night out?”  
“Well you know, I was thinking, we haven’t done anything outside of school in FOREVER, so... Come on! Let’s get out and do something!”  
“I don’t know Axl…” X prodded another piece of sashimi, Zero’s favorite, against his lips and Zero bit into it, “Where would we go?”  
“To the city, duh! There’s always something to do there!”  
“Hm… Zero what do you think?”

Zero shrugged and mumbled about he didn’t have enough money for a train ticket.  
“You know I would be happy to but you one.”  
Zero spoke more clearly, “I don’t like you buying things for me.”  
“But I like buying things for you.”  
“You’re wasting your money.”  
“Not if it’s you.”  
Before Zero could say it’s a waste of money because it’s him, he was cut off by Axl, “Boys, boys, you’re both gay, just say yes and go Zero.”  
“...Fine. When?”  
“I’m thinking of Friday. And maybe a sleepover after?”  
Zero grunted noncommittally.  
“Sure! That sounds like fun!” X chirped, “We can all study together Saturday!”  
“Uh X-”  
“After all the exams are less than a month away now. In fact, we should be going to cram school shouldn’t we?”  
“X, please-”  
“What do you think about Zero?”  
“Don’t got a job.” was Zero’s only response. He also didn’t give a shit about the Kendo club. He hadn’t been since…  
She showed up anyway.

“That settles it then. From now on, we are all going to cram school after school every day.”  
“Ugggghhhh…”

Zero never really understood the point of cram school. As far as he was considered, only geeks and dweebs would spend all day at school, only to spend money on more school.  
X was a geek, admittedly, and was close with the teacher of cram school. Dr. Cossack, an immigrant from Russia and a friend of Lights.  
According to X, Light and Cossack were both colleagues back their college days and he, along with Wily were good friends. Before the fallout. Now Cossack can stand Wily about as much as Wily can stand Light. To say, not at all.  
Zero was never close with him, in his entire school career he’s probably been to cram school 5 times, and that's because X tagged along. Wily wouldn’t pay for that, no, “fuck that shit.” X said that Cossack was nice and he had no reason to not believe him. 

However, after school, Zeros kegs felt like jelly and he could hardly stand up. He tried, really but he didn’t travel more than a few feet before his legs gave out from under him. Thank goodness X was there to catch him.  
“You need help getting home Zero?”  
“...” Probably, he thought.  
“Would you mind staying at  
“You need help X?” Axl asked.  
“I’m fine you can go on ahead. “  
“Nah, Zero’sgot a big butt, I’ll help ya carry him. “  
“Gee thanks Axl.”  
“Youu’reeee welcome.”

The rest of the week passed mostly non-eventfully. Axl had yet to be able to weasel his way out of cram school, nor had Zero. Who, by the way, was getting tired of being reminded how stupid he was. But that was fine. It made X happy. X being made happy made him content.  
And just a tad bit happy, as well.  
Vile had tried picking fights a couple times, but that wasn’t new and it became easier to ignore him, it’s hard to get ma at somebody calling you gay or saying teasing things about your “boyfriend” when he actually was, you were… probably gay.  
Zero was still unsure about that, but then again he had his mind on other things. Like… Her.  
Vile needs new material.

 

However, what was new were updates on Rock and Bass. X had said progress had been slow, but they are getting to a point to where Rock could call Bass a friend, however, he doubted Bass would agree. There were a few small moments where Bass would wait for Rock on something, or do something for him like passing him salt without being nasty. If it were anyone else, these would be small feats, but Rock was hyped considering it was Bass. It really felt like Rock was growing on him, and Zero hoped that was the truth. He had no way of knowing. Whenever he did ask Bass about Rock, usually due to X’s badgering, he’d get the standard answer:  
“Fuck off. “  
And Zero bring Zero would not be able to let it go and sit on him while he was trying to watch Tv, petty shit to get under his skin. He was ding a baby about it anyways, Zero thought.  
Still, he wondered what he thought about Rock. For his sake, he hoped it was positive. 

Her.

Oh god, her, when she was way and by himself at night, the soul-crushing guilt grabbed his heart and squeezed it, and he could only lay awake, and let it happen. The only time he would be able to get sleep is when he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. Still, he couldn't escape her. His dreams, they were always of her. Maybe it would be better if he could talk to her, but he just didn't have the moxie.

 

Friday came, X and Zero walked to the train station at about 4 o’clock, wearing casual clothing and ready to take on the town. Zero wore the nicest shirt he had, which was to say, a plain red one, with the color slightly faded. X was wearing a blue striped shirt (which looked nice on him). The station was average in appearance, a tin roof overhead, signs on the side letting you know when the next train is coming, and old worn wooden benches.  
Axl was already there, and was waving his hands, “Oi! You came here just in time! The trains gon’ be here any second now!” he pointed to the sign that read “アーベルの市ー0分”  
Axl was wearing a black shirt under an unbuttoned plaid shirt with cargo pants with big-ass pockets and… is that a fucking wallet chain attached to the side of his pants?  
“Eh- that is lucky, isn’t Z?”  
Zero nodded. “Mm.” He acted as if he wasn’t thinking about Axl was wearing a wallet chain.  
It was then that they heard the distant horn in the distance, and turned their heads as the train slowly pushed itself into the station, and stopped with a sigh.  
The doors opened with a beep, and they walked inside. Looking around there were only a few people. A businessman sleeping on the red seats, an old lady with cloud-white hair reading a newspaper, and a teenager holding a squidtendo snitch. 

The doors shut, and they all sat down, Zero was unlucky enough to be sat next to the businessman and they were on their way to the city.

They sat in silence as the green shrubbery and trees passed them by until their town was long gone and the landscape would eventually evolve from overgrown grass and trees to metal and concrete and wires.

“You know, if you ask me this isn’t really that much of a “guys night out”, considering none of us have any other friends besides each other. “ Zero suddenly said. It was something he had been thinking for a while. The businessman, balding, and in a black pinstripe suit snored.  
“Ouch. “ Axl winced.  
“It’s true. “  
“It is true…” X reluctantly agreed.  
“Well, kinda. Alia and Layer and Palette are our friends aren’t they?”  
He continued after seeing the expression Zero’s face, “I mean, remember spring when they invited us to hanami?”  
“...I wouldn’t really call them my friends. “  
“I don’t know, being invited to a picnic and flower viewing is kinda like being friends right?”  
Zero shrugged.  
“Alia is my friend. I’m not that close with the other two though…” X chuckled nervously.  
“...” Zero was silent.

It was usually an hour ride from their quiet little town that went by many times. It used to be called “Doppler town” after being placed on the map after Dr. Doppler made the place famous by claiming he had the cure-all drug to any illness. Believe it or not, there was a brief period in time where people believed him. However, he was chased out after being called a crook after people who took his “medicine” becoming in even worse condition. After the town had been renamed many times, to “Mega town”, to “Hampton Village”, and to“Symphony settlement”, and even more. You could basically call it whatever you want, hell, there were still people who called it “Doppler town.”

The ride was only 45 minutes, opposed to the aforementioned usual hour, it felt a lot longer. He wished he was sitting next to X, but no, Axl was in the middle, and he guessed that was intentional.  
Damn Axl. 

Getting off the train, you could really see the contrast between their town. The roof overhead wasn’t rusted and made of tin, it was made of glass and showed the fluffy white clouds and the sun that was getting lower into the sky, people bustled all around. Businessmen on phones, teenage girls chittering, and kids wearing elementary school uniforms. 

“Which way are we going?”  
“There’s this really neato ramen place I wanted to go first it’s…” Axl tapped on his phone for a bit and his eyes lit up.  
“This way!” Axl led the pack and they traveled further into the crowd, and into the depths of the city, and past some graffiti that read “#2 ギャング! ークイックは此処に居た!  
Although the kanji letters were sloppy he could read that it said “Number two gang! Quick was here!” Whoever this “Quick” guy was must be either stupid or incredibly foolish to put his name up like that.  
Probably more stupid, though. 

The city was bustling, people walking around in large droves, cars, expensive ones, cheap ones, taxis, constantly going through streets and crosswalks and stopping traffic. Fashion stores with mannequins in the window showing off the latest fashions lined the streets Music could be heard from various corners, mixing with the bright lights of the advertisements and chatter of the crowds, and the occasional smell of street food.  
Zero scowled and growled a bit. He was suddenly reminded why he hated coming here. 

“You used to have a job right?” Axl asked suddenly.  
“Yeah. “  
“Where at? You never said. “  
“...It’s coming up. “ he realized this as soon as he said this and internally groaned. There was a reason he didn’t like talking about his job. Suddenly they turned into a street lined with several cafe’s, and the surroundings became striking more familiar to him. A woman in a french maid’s outfit and cat ears called out to people walking past and handed out coupons and flyers and it gave Zerothe chills.

“Are we getting close?” X asked.  
“Yeah!” he yelled over the crowd, “Just down this street! Are we really close to where you worked at Zero?”  
Zero slightly nodded, and eyes went wide at his old workplace. He pointed to it.  
“Really? That’s it?” X questioned with innocent eyes. Zero grunted in confirmation.  
“Well, I don’t see what was so secret about it, it just looks like your average butler and mai- OH, oh. “ Realization changed into snickering, and his face grew red from trying to hold a laugh in.  
“Hm?” X looked concerned as his head tilted just a bit to the side.  
“Oh- oh god, I've heard of these but- it’s a CROSSDRESSING cafe.”  
X’s face and ears turned slightly pink, “Oh. Oh. So you…”  
Zero shook his head, “No. The owner said…” Oh god, he was cringing so hard thinking about it. God, Messiah, Buddha, Jesus, if you're out there, help me.  
“...Since you already look like a girl, you can wear a suit.”  
Axl didn't hold back anymore, he roared, and any more and he was one step from rolling on the floor. His knees buckled, and he shook and shook with laughter. They got odd looks.

“He must be blind. I don’t think you look like a girl at all. Your face is structured to differently from a girl, you have too strong of a jawline, and your shoulders and chest are too broad to be a girl.“  
Zero felt his insides grow warm and face glow from X’s words, and he turned away. It was odd, considering it wasn’t really a compliment, he was just saying the obvious. But it meant he had been studying him carefully, didn’t it? Axl finally calmed from his laughing fit and rolled his eyes, “You guys are so fucking gay.”  
“Fuck you.”  
“Well, if you want…”  
Zero slapped the back of his head.  
“Ow! It was just a joke!”  
Zero gave X the side eye and he shook his head, not worth it.  
“Whatever, let’s just go to that ramen place you wanted to go to.”  
“Well... I did want to go to that ramen place because apparently, they have this ramen called-” he took a deep breath, “-level 9-unbearably-hot-chef’s-choice-ramen.” he exhaled in all one breath.  
“...Uh huh.” Zero was very unimpressed.  
“But, why not go here?”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because.” Zero stated flatly.  
“Awww come onnnn, “ Axl whined, “X come on, stand with me here!”  
“Well… I honestly don’t mind where we go.”

Goddammit, if he didn’t think of a good excuse quick he’s going to have to back in there and he really, REALLY did not look forward to going back in there.  
Rust it.  
Bolts.  
Shit.  
Eureka! Idea.  
“But there really isn’t anything in there besides drinks and junk food, like cakes.”  
“Oh like latte’s and what, tiramisu?”  
Zero didn’t know what either of those was but he nodded.

“Fuck that, ramen shop it is!”  
Relief. He sighed.

Axl ordered the names-too-long-but-point-is-its-spicy, an Zero had to ponder the difference between Tonkotsu ramen, and Shoyu ramen, and the fact he didn't even know so many different types, not that it mattered. Like hell he was going to ask X to pay for his meal, he had seven 100 Zenny coins, that was enough for either Miso ramen or the Shio ramen, he picked Miso. Miso he was familiar with, not that he’s ever woken up to his mom, or any kind of mom making miso soup in the morning with a bowl of rice in the morning but he's eaten miso soup served in coffee cups at the convenience store.  
Not the same, he’d imagine.

“I’ll have the tonkotsu please,” X said.  
“I'll have Miso.”

Once the waiter left, Zero looked at X, “Do you know what tonkotsu ramen is?”  
“I’ve had it before, it’s pork and uh, is very rich….”  
“Hm.”  
“I like my ramen with extra ginger.”  
"Nobody asked", Zero thought to himself but had the decency to at least not say it out loud. He would really like to think he wasn’t that big of an asshole. Although, he was kind of jealous that h had eaten enough ramen to develop a preference. Most of the time when Zero ate ramen, it was out of the microwavable cup-o-noodles, or the ones you pour hot water into and wait.

Wily liked to eat one at the start of the new year and grumble about how it was “another lousy year" while the TV blared on some nonsensical program. He used to make Bass pour the water for him until he threatened to drop the pot of scalding hot water on his foot. He never asked again after that.

Anyway, the food came, X’s ramen looked very thick and was a soft shade of brown, the noodles were hidden under the slices of pork, bright red pickled ginger, brown shiitake mushrooms, and green vegetables. 

Axl’s ramen didn’t look as appetizing. It looked something out of the depths of hell itself, the broth was a bright red and bubbling, and the pile of pickled ginger on top did not do it any favors.

“Um… Axl, are you sure you can eat that…?” X looked at the hellish ramen warily.

“Sure I’m sure!” He grabbed his chopsticks that were still stuck together and broke them cleanly into the two pieces. Then clasped his hands together and proclaimed,  
“Itadakimasu!” and with the courage of several stunt doubles, stuffed a big bite into his mouth without even blowing it cool first. NEither X or Zero had even broken into their chopsticks, and Zero hadn’t even looked down into his bowl of noodles, both wanted to know how would this play out.

It went as expected, it seemed fine for a moment, then his eyes started to water, his face flushed, and sweat formed and dripped down his forehead and cheeks, then  
“ARRGGGHHH!” he jumped up and stuck his tongue out, fanning it.  
“W-what the fuck?! M-my tongue is t-t-throbbing!”  
“Yeah, that was expected…” X deadpanned.  
“...But... “ Axl sat back down, “it’s delicious.” and dug into the ramen with renewed fervor. Zero rolled his eyes, and broke apart his chopsticks with the intention to dig in, and so did X, however, the ends stuck together and instead of being a clean break like X and Axl's, one of the ends broke off, still stuck to the other like a pair of Siamese twins.  
Zero never felt such an urge to kill himself until then, as he stared at his chopsticks as everyone else ate around him, he wondered, why him? Why was he always getting the short end of the stick? Was it fate? Was it god punishing him?

But then he got a new pair and dug in.

Delicious. It was very tasty and tasted much better than the miso soup at the convenience store. But that was a given.  
Axl sat back, sweating, his tongue, his lips, and his face red, yet he still looked content.  
“So, big red, you still thinking about Iris.”  
“I wasn’t until you brought it up.” guilt settled over him like a big blanket and soured the good mood he had from the food. He sighed.  
Axl swore, “I’m sorry, god I’m an idiot…”  
“I wouldn't say all that. Coming out was…” he couldn’t believe he was saying this, “...A good idea. I know I can act like an ass at times but… You know, there's a reason why I hang out with you. “  
Axl stared at him for a moment and pressed his hand against his forehead. “Are you sick? Is this the real Zero? Did you just say something nice?”  
“Shut up.”  
X chuckled, “Are we ready to go?”  
“Yeah, hold on, need to get my wallet out.”  
Zero fucking called it, he knew it was a wallet chain. The gleaming metal chain shined in the lights of the restaurant, and one end was attached to his black worn wallet, covered in assorted stickers of "Sailor Moon" and "Gudetama." Zero did have his suspicions Axl was a closeted "otaku."  
X waved him off, “Don’t worry about it, I got it.”  
“NO.”  
X and Axl stared at Zero, and he blushed.

The rest of the evening went by, and they all went over to X’s house to sleep. X had begun storing clothes fro Zero now and Axl had some PJ’s in his bag. He said he didn’t mind sleeping on the floor and X let him, although he had brought perhaps too many blankets and pillows, he looked more comfortable than X’s bed did.  
Of course, that all disappeared once Zero was wrapped up under the blanket, and in X’s arms, and X on his own. His hair smelled of cinnamon and sugar, and his lips tasted vaguely of the ramen from earlier.

That night was the most restful sleep he had in ages, and there were no dreams of her. Only of sweet smiles, and cinnamon.

 

 

Fathers day special: 

“Happy Father’s Day Dad!”

Light smiled and took the bouquet of flowers from Roll and set them down beside him. Rock and X had brought breakfast, a glass of orange juice and omelet with rice, ketchup was squirted on top of the omelet to read “Happy Father’s Day!”  
He could tell it wasn’t Roll who made it if it were her the dish would be impeccable, but it was not. The letters were crooked and the omelet wasn’t neatly folded in half.

He gave all of his children a big hug. Moments like this made bring a father worth it. He just wished that one other sibling was her to enjoy this moment….

“So, Bass, do you know what day it is?”  
“It’s the day you leave me the fuck alone and let me watch TV.”  
Wily hmph’d and went into the kitchen, great, Zero was drinking from his favorite mug.  
“Quit drinking my coffee!”  
Zero glared at him as he slurped from Wily’s skull shaped mug, and Wily just sighed. Days like this made being a parent so not worth it. Then again, was there ever a day that made this worth it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would've been out sooner if I didn't get to like 1000, 2000 words to a chapter and then decide it sucked and threw it out 2 fucking times.  
> But, this one is the best one to be fair, and it does have something going on, the other rough drafts would've meandered and dicked around like the last chapter did. And you know, fine chapter. But do you really want that? Or do you want Axl to eat hot ass spicy ramen with pickled ginger, u know the answer.  
> This probably would have come out later if it weren't for the fact I wanted to be able to post this while it was still fathers day. Sure it's 13 minutes to 12, but you get a nice little sample for all of the Americans who wake up the next day, and all the Europeans will read this on the actual day but I'm 99% sure it will not be fathers day for them. 
> 
> BTW if ur wondering why they aren't out for school yet, cause nobody in Japan is out for school yet until July 20-ish and when I looked it up I was like "yeah I'll bite"  
> also, also, All the signs n' shit are in Japanese cause I took 2 years of it (online) for one thing and I fucking feel like it. If you want to know what it means so bad, you go ahead and look it up. Google translate give you the gist.  
> Finally, I don't know where the end is in sight, but theres a checklist of things I want to do before this fic ends, and I want to see how far we'll get. I don't like planning shit out, I like putting my writng pants on and getting busy.  
> Should I? I mean yeah, but I don't.  
> Love ya all for getting this far, mwah.


	7. Talking.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero talks with Iris, and Rock talks with Bass.

“Zero.”

“...”

“Zero! Please…”

“Get out of my way Iris.”

“No! Zero, listen to me!”

“This is between me and him Iris! I have no choice. I’m sorry.”

That was a lie. He had a choice.

“Then it’s over. All of it. “ She put her fists up.

 

It was over.

He could not control himself, even against her.  
As he hit and kicked and slapped, and punched, he could feel the damage he was doing. Colonel had regained consciousness and screamed for him to stop.

CRACK!

 

He woke up. Sweat drenched his forehead, and his hair stuck to it, His neck and back were also drenched in that sickly damp fluid, he recognized when he sat up.  
Felt gross, but looking at the clock he already knew there wouldn’t be enough time for a shower. He surrendered to the fact he would smell for the rest of the day, and sprayed on some body spray. 

"You smell like shit," Bass announced when he came into the kitchen. Zero responded by shoving Bass's face into his (stale) cereal.

It was fucking exhausting sometimes, going through the same motions and through what felt like the same day over and over.  
Go to class. Signas comes in and directs the class to stand and bow. You sit down and go through another lecture about fucking math or something. You get lectured about how summer is only 22 days away, and the exams are next week.  
“I already get lectured enough from X,” Zero thought quietly as he wrote a bunch of bs in his notebook, so that looked like it could be math homework from last night, but really was lies and lies and lies and made up bs.

It had been a few weeks since Iris had come back into Zero’s life, and he felt like more of a mess each day, which was starting to blend into each other more and more as the days went on. The only moments he could pinprick from his memory were of X. But even those had started to meld into each other. What did he and X do yesterday? Who knows. For all he knew they could have been eating pickled plums straight from the jar all that evening. But knowing X, he probably had some diary somewhere that he wrote everything that had ever happened to him. He could probably remember it all as vividly as when it happened.

It felt cruel that Zero had to be tortured by that damned brown hair and virescent eyes that pierced straight into his soul. What kind of god would do such a thing to him? Sometimes he caught her staring at him, and that made him feel doubly worse; if that was possible. X and Axl kept telling him,  
“Just talk to her!”  
He’d like to see them try. What was he supposed to say? “Hey, sorry for knocking your brother out and breaking your arm, are we cool now?” He wasn’t even X could say anything to make the situation better.

One time he had a weird dream, it was off the walls bananas. He was like, a robot? He was fighting Coronel who was also a robot? There was something about ending the world? Maybe, he wasn't sure about that part. Then there was Iris who had an Australian accent, and she turned into a mech with a huge-ass purple diamond for some reason, and they like, had to fight? Because he killed Colonel?  
The dream ended with him holding her in his arms, apparently, she had died, despite being a robot. Couldn’t she just be rebuilt or something? Eh, dreams don’t make any sense anyway.

It’s a dream that has stuck with him for years now, and a part of him wishes that the situation was like that. Where he didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t some petty fight over about how Colonel didn’t like him and thought he was a bad influence on Iris. She already told him so many times to just ignore him That she cared for him, that she loved him, and that was what mattered. But no. He couldn’t let anything go, could he?

He still couldn’t. He still fought with Bass over stupid, stupid, stupid petty shit.

As he laid there, in X’s lap, getting fed fried mackerel while Axl played, well, he wasn't really sure. Some sort of anime game with a guy with a white mask and black hair. Zero's mind was too occupied to really care what it was. really wondered, for the 100th time why X would like a piece of shit, on the ground like him who smelt of sweat and had ragged dry blonde hair. 

He wondered and pondered this until the rusted door that led up the rooftop creaked open. Zero was quick to sit up, and Axl looked over from his dumbass game.  
It was those green eyes and brown hair.

“Zero?”  
“....” Oh shit. Oh shit, oh fuck shit…  
“Can I talk to you?”  
Zero nodded and stood up, he could feel X and Axl’s eyes on him as he left the room, and…  
Fuck…  
He’s following her. Her hair was a lot longer than he remembered. What was used to be about to her shoulder blades was now about as long as his.

She led him down the hall, which was illuminated by the noon sun and filled with students milling around, and chattering.  
Was that Eagle? He hadn’t seen him in a while. His hair was just as obnoxious blue of color as always. He never understood why he was affiliated with Vile like that. There was a time when he seemed to be above that.

Iris waved to him, and he waved back. Zero dared himself to ask,  
“Where are we going?”  
“Somewhere private.” Her voice that haunted his dreams sang.  
“Hm.”

He passed by their classroom. From the corner of his eyes, he watched as Layer stopped talking to Alia and Palette and watched him walk past the windows. Annoying, if Zero was honest. If you want to say something, you should have spoken up by now. It was kinda irking him by now how she kept staring at him.

Iris stopped in front of an empty classroom looking up a, and slid open the door, looking inside, the only source of light was one half-closed curtained window, so most of the room was dim. Zero’s stomach was in knots, what the hell would she want to talk about that she needed to be in an empty room? Not that he really wanted to talk to her in front of X, or Axl he guessed. Or anyone else that could be listening.

They stood and faced each other, she stood near the window where her brown hair shimmered like the worlds most fantastic caramel dessert. They stared, and for a long moment, there was silence. She took a deep breath.

“What was it that you wanted from me?” Zero asked.  
“...I wanted…” She squeezed her dainty hands together and looked up at him, letting out another nervous sigh. Zero tried very hard to look like a cool and calm collected individual but his mind was already a fucking loopy mess.

“I wanted to ask you to stop avoiding me.”

Zero gave her a startled look, eyebrows raised.

“It’s okay Zero. That was years ago. I know you still feel bad, and I know that’s why you turn away whenever I look at you, but you don’t need to feel bad. I forgive you.”

Oh.  
Oh.  
Oh.  
Well…  
“But-”  
“It’s okay Zero. It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”  
“But… I broke your…”

She giggled, “you’re still just as stubborn as you were back then. But you also look so much better.”  
What the hell did she mean by that?

“I know it sounds silly, but I missed you a lot… “ she twirled her hair around her finger and blushed a bit, both things that were totally lost on Zero who was still trying to process what the ever-loving hell was happening, “...Walking home with you, hanging out after school… Go out sometimes… Just, talking.”

“....” It sounded familiar.

“Could you um, walk me home today so we can talk more actually S-since lunch is almost over…”  
“Sure,” Zero replied without actually thinking about what he was agreeing to.  
“Really?! Okay, I’ll meet you in front of the school 10 minutes after, you don’t have any clubs do you?”  
‘...No job.”  
“Okay then! See you there.”

The bell rung, and Iris went back to the door, smiling she waved and said “Bye! See you in class!” and left.

Finally, it all registered in his mind, with a click. The heavens opened up and a weight that had settled onto his shoulders released all at once, the guilt pushing on his chest and tying his stomach and mind into knots disappeared and, oh god his legs were wobbling oh no, oh no, oh he’s going down.  
His head banged painfully against the floor and he slept like a baby.

...

“Zero.”

“Mm.”

“Zero!”

He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was X’s eyes piercing through him with his (in Zero's opinion) ill-placed concern.  
“Are you alright?”

he looked down. He was in the nurse's office, in the crisp white cotton sheets. He sat up, and his head thronged painfully as if somebody was jackhammering it.  
“Yeah. I’m fine. You don't need to be worried. “

“...” X frowned, “... What did Iris say?”  
“Oh... right. It went… a lot better then I thought. She…” he swallowed, “she said she forgave me. “  
“Oh! That’s fantastic! See, what have we been telling you? You just needed to talk to her! You’ve been getting worked up for nothing…” He smiled.

It all sunk in at once. No longer would he need to feel the earth-shattering guilt. No longer.  
No longer…  
“I guess you’re right. Then again, you’re always right.”  
X beamed. 

Then the realization hit him like a dump truck and he facepalmed.  
“Fuck… I’m so fucking stupid…”  
“Hm? Are you alright?”  
“I just remembered, I agreed to walk her home. “  
“That’s great!” X smiled sweetly  
“Really?”  
“Yeah! I’ll use the extra time to study, you don’t need to worry about me.”  
“...But what about…”  
“What about what?”  
“Vile."  
X rolled his eyes, “I promise I’ll be fine Z. Have fun with Iris.”  
“...Alright. What time is it?”  
X looked above his head and to the nurse’s clock. “It’s 3:18-”

Zero swore and lept out, ignoring his pounding headache, “Shit! I was going to meet her at 3:20- I don’t even have my stuff, god!”  
X chuckled and held his stuff up for him. “You stress out too much sometimes, Z.”  
“O-oh…” he grabbed it, “thanks.”  
“You’re welcome. Have fun, don’t worry about me, okay?”  
He nodded and rushed off.

They walked in comfortable silence, side by side. It felt like he was back in middle school again, it was too surreal to be a reality. But it was, at least he was pretty sure, he pinched himself.

“Are you okay? I heard you passed out.” She glanced at him, her eyes were tight and worried.  
“I’m fine. I’m not sure how that happened…” He did, however, feel more refreshed than he ever had in his life. Like a skin care commercial, reinvigorated, rejuvenated, and revived.

“Well alright…”  
“...What was living in the city like?” He’s never been the type to make conversation with anyone besides X really, but it’s something he’s been wondering for a while now.  
“Crowded… and loud. You’ve been to the city right? Imagine that but… everyday.”  
“I see… I actually went there last weekend.”  
“Oh really? With your girlfriend?”

Girlfriend? Where did that come from?

He shook his head, “No. I went with X and Axl.” So he went with his boyfriend, get it right Iris.  
“Oh! -I just thought… Since Um.. what was her name?”  
“Layer?”  
“She’s the one with the purple hair and mole right?”  
“Yeah. Axl told me she has a crush on me but… She hasn’t said anything yet.”  
“Would you go out with her if she did say something?”  
Zero shook his head, “No. She’s pretty, I’ll admit that much, but that’s all I can say about her.”

Iris let out a quiet sigh.  
“Who’s Axl, by the way?”  
“He transferred after you moved out. He was on the rooftop earlier.”  
“Oh, the spiky-haired guy? I was wondering who he was.”  
“Yeah,” Zero grunted.  
“Huh, What’s he like?”  
“Annoying.”  
She giggled a bit, “so you hang out with him because…?”  
“He’s not unbearably annoying.”  
“You really haven’t changed.”  
“I guess.”

She stopped and turned to face him.  
“This is the end of the line for me. You know my brother… He’d blow a gasket if he saw you.”  
“I know.”  
“Will you walk with me again tomorrow?”

“...Sure.”

 

Zero could probably mark this day down as one of the few best he’s ever had. Number one would be…  
Well, when he confessed (accidentally) to X. I mean, the rest of the day sucked, that one moment he would remember for the rest of his life.

He wondered if X felt the same

 

Bass didn’t have as good of a day.

“YOU WHAT?!”

That was the first thing Zero heard once he stepped through that door. The fuck were they arguing about now?

“I’ll hang out with whoever I want to- retard!”  
“You will not, as long as you are in my house!”  
Oh, he found out. Somehow.  
“Shut up you stupid-“

Zero interfered and caught Wily’s hand before it could strike Bass’s face.  
“What do you think you are doing?”

His eyes shifted from Bass to Zero.  
“I… I…”  
“I never thought you would sink so low. You should be ashamed. “  
Wily gulped and to be fair he did look ashamed, not nesting Zero’s eyes and clearly wishing to get out of the situation.  
Skittish.  
Cowardly.  
Pathetic.  
Wily forcefully yanked his hand away from Zero. 

“C’mon Treble. “ Bass glanced over at him.

Treble perked up at the sound Bass’s voice and walked over to him, panting. Bass scratched behind his ears a bit and opened the door.  
“Let’s get out of this hell hole. “  
He left, and that white door with yellowed stains crashed behind him. 

Zero wondered where he was going. Wherever it was it better than here.  
“You know, you wouldn’t want to be around the Light’s if you knew the truth.”  
“What truth?” Zero looked at Wily with narrowed eyes and hateful expression. He could through him, he was built from lies upon lies. He didn't forget the lies he had told him about having a "granddaughter."  
“...I’ll tell you when he gets back.”

Yeah right.

There was a thump at the door.  
“I’ll get it!” Rock yelled out. It was late in the evening, 8:30, and was nearing bedtime now.  
The sun had finally laid rest for the night and the sky twinkled with stars. The brights lights of the city that never slept could be seen fairly clearly if you looked hard enough. X was still studying and hadn’t looked up from his book since he got home from cram school at about 6. It was weird seeing him without Zero now, he’d been coming over so often.

He figured that’s who it was, but imagine his surprise when it was a raggedy-looking Bass with smudges of brown dirt on his face, leaves and sticks in his hair, and Treble. Who had burs in his fur. Panting, tongue out.

“We need a place to crash for the night.”  
“..Ooo...kay? Why aren’t you at-”  
“Ugh. Just let me in.” He shoved past him and Treble ran past them and curled up on their couch.

“I, uh, need to go and talk to Dad, I’ll be back.”  
“Yeah, yeah. Can I get some grub?” Bass was already rummaging through the fridge.

“S-sure, I’m just going to go now…”  
Rock awkwardly ascended the stairs, and into the master bedroom. Light was reading a book in bed. With a light blue quilt covering him, and soft light coming from a lamp with a white lampshade.  
“Ah, Rock, who was at the door?” He asked, putting the book aside.  
“Uh… It’s uhm, Bass. He says He needs to stay over for the night.”

“Bass you say?” His eyes twinkled.  
“Uhm... yeah.”  
“It’s fine. Tell him he’s welcome here whenever he likes.”  
“T-thanks Dad. Means a lot. Um…” Rock hesitated. He wasn't completely if now was the time to say it.  
“Yes?”  
“...” Rock looked behind him and made sure nobody was around. 

What's the worse that could happen?

“...What if I told you I had a teeny-tiny crush on him…?”  
Light’s eyes sparkled even more, and he smiled warmly. “Well… If you were to say that… I would say that would be fine.”

“t-Thanks again…” Feeling a bit awkward, and a bit relieved, he jumped back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Bass had swallowed an entire sleeve of Oreos and was drinking straight from the gallon of milk.

“Uhm… we have cups for a reason, Bass.” Rock deadpanned.  
Bass put the gallon back into the fridge and glared at Rock, wiping away his milk mustache.  
“Quit being a smart ass. I just wanted a drink.”

“...I talked to my Dad. said you were welcome anytime.”  
“...He did?” he sounded surprised.  
“He did.” Rock echoed.  
“...Huh.” 

“...” Quick, quick, think of something, anything to say,  
“Want me to run you a bath?”  
Awful, awful, you ding-dong. You mucked it up again.

“Ha? Why?” Bass gave him a weird look.  
“...You’re covered in dirt.” Rock answered honestly.  
“...” Bass considered this, and shrugged his shoulders, “Eh.”  
“Eh?”  
"You have a change of clothes?"  
“O-Oh! I-I do!”  
“Then fine. “

Rock went back upstairs to one of the bathrooms. This one was usually used for taking baths, no other ones had a tub. Twisting the faucet, warm water poured into the tub and white steam fluttered into the air. His reflection was lucid as it reflected back at him in the crystal clear water. HE twisted the faucet again once it was then Roll stepped in, wearing a pink nightgown with a bit of frill around the neck and the sleeves.

“Why are you taking a bath when there are only 20 minutes until bedtime?” She asked curiously.  
“Uhm, I’m not. Bass is?”  
“BASS?! What is he doing here?!”  
“He hasn’t told me. He’s just sleeping here for the night.”  
“Tell him to go back to Wily! He has his own bed!” she growled and crossed her arms.  
“Roll…”  
“How can you stand him? He’s so rude to you all the time, and you keep saying there’s more to him than that but I’m not seeing it. It just sounds like your blindly…,” she hesitated, “.. I don’t know. But I don’t like it.”

“So that’s why you keep glaring at me.”

Roll jumped and turned the face behind her, Bass looked down at her, as she was a few inches shorter than him. “That’s right! And if you try to fight me, I’ll fight back!”  
“Roll-”  
“Shut your mouth already. I just want to take a bath. I just realized I fucking reek of sweat.” He made a face, “Move.”

She looked at Rock desperately, as if to say “Are you just going to stand there?!” He shot her back a look of “What are you expecting me to do?!” She huffed and stormed out.

“What’s her deal?” bass scoffed.

“W-well you know… She hasn't exactly forgiven you for picking fights and beating me up all those times…”  
“That had nothing to do with her,” he said incredulously.  
“Well, if someone hurt Treble, wouldn’t you hate whoever did that?”  
After a moment of silence, and a momentarily stunned look, as if it was never a thing he even considered before now, Rock pointed to a plain white cabinet in the corner of the room,  
“There's a pair of pajamas in there.”

He left the room, shutting the bathroom door behind him.

After about nearly 20 minutes, Bass came into his room, wearing blue pajama shorts and an oversized XXL T-shirt Rock had gotten for free at one of the conventions he tagged along with Light at. He's had it for a couple years now. It read: “Robots and tech con. 20XX”

“You can sleep in my bed if you want.”  
In the time he was in the bath, Rock had talked to X, whose eyes had the same twinkle as Lights, and helped his drag a blow-up mattress up. He asked for advice but the only thing he got was:  
“Just be yourself. Good luck.” Which was not helpful in the slightest. Shoot, he was staring at the blonde streak in his hair. He really really really wanted to touch his hair, but he could already see how that would end.  
“Be yourself,” That would have screwed him over just now. Even Cut could give better advice, and his idea of flirting was McDonald puns. -not that he was considering flirting with Bass of course. 

Speaking of which, he hesitated and seemed to consider the offer before scowling.  
“Sleep where you've been sweating all night? I don’t think so.”

Rock kind of expected that. Bass made himself at home and plopped himself onto the mattress.

Rock mused aloud, “This is kinda like having a sleepover. “  
He swears he saw Bass flinch just a bit.“Huh. Never had one.”  
“Seriously?!”  
“What you think I’d lie about that?” He shot him a glare.  
“Well no…, Maybe... we have a real one sometime? W-we can watch movies a-and eat popcorn…”  
Bass shrugged. “Okay. “  
“You mean it?!”  
“I don’t have anything else going on. It’s either that or stay with two assholes“  
“So... we can have it this weekend?”  
“I guess. “ 

Rock tried to help himself he really, really, REALLY did, and he knew he was making the same mistake again, but he just about practically jumped at and hugged Bass.

“H-h-hey! What do you think you’re playing at?!” Bass wiggled out his grasp and pushed him away. Rock studied his face and found he wasn’t making eye contact and was that the faintest shade of pink dusted on his cheeks?  
He only had a second before his cheeks stung, and his line of concentration had been eradicated. Bass had slapped him.  
“Try that shit again and you’ll be getting more than a slap,” Bass warned.

Rock nodded and apologized, “I’m sorry for overstepping your boundaries.”  
Bass made a noise that sounded as if he was sucking the air between his teeth and turned away. “Just don’t do that shit again. I’m fucking serious. Just turn the damn light off. I’m tired.”

Rock laid there in silence, twisting and turning as silently as he could in bed, with no avail to grasp onto the sleep that he kinda needed.

In a quiet voice, he whispered, 

“Hey Bass?”  
“What?” Bass gave Rock a nasty side eye and he gulped.  
He laid it out, the question that had been weighing down his heart. “Are we friends?”  
“....” Bass was silent, a first for him, and sighed, another first. Usually, he would've already snapped a-  
“Fuck, I don’t know.”

Rock blinked through the darkness, "You… Don’t… Know?”  
“I hate you. But sometimes…” he trailed off.

Rock could sense the tension, and decided to drop it, and maybe discuss it with X later.  
“...Why aren’t you with Wily?”  
Bass seemed to relax a bit, “...The fucker tried to hit me.”  
Rock gasped, “He didn’t-”  
“Relax your fucking panties, he didn't actually hit me, I would’ve beaten his fucking ass.”  
“..Still. It’s worrying.”  
“He found out I was hanging around you. The fucking old man won’t get over his shit.” He griped  
“Why does Wily hate my Dad so much? I’ve tried asking him but he gets… kinda depressed when it’s mentioned.” Rock thought about how his shoulders would droop and he’d look sullen over whatever he was doing.

"Old man won’t tell us either. Knowing him it’s probably some stupid-ass petty shit he won’t get the fuck over already.”

Another moment of silence.

“...Why were you so dirty when you came in?"  
“Jesus, what’s with the fucking questions tonight? I was in the woods, god…”  
“Sorry…” Rock said quietly.  
“You know that forest isn’t fucking cursed like everyone says it is-"

Rock knew what he was talking about. it was rumored that Uzamaki forest to the left of the town was cursed by a ghost that, if caught someone wandering around, would twist and turn them into a spiral. 

"-I’ve been in there dozens of fucking times and the only fucking thing I have ever seen is this weird guy with a fucking yellow scarf wander around-”  
“Wait, what?”  
“There’s this weirdo that wanders around in the woods. He just stares and doesn’t say anything like a freak. I tried punching him in the face once and he disappeared. Fucker.”  
“What does he look like?”  
“Why do you care?”  
“That kinda sounds like my brother.”  
“You have 2 brothers? Shit, I can’t fucking stand one.” he paused, “Fine, he wears sunglasses like a dope, and red rain boots.”  
“That’s him. No way… That’s where he’s been all this time…?” Thoughts swirled around in Rock’s head.  
“He runs out on you?” Bass snorted.  
“He ran away... Yeah. Will you… show me where he is sometimes?”  
“If you don’t act like a bitch, maybe. Now shut up, I already told you I’m tired.”  
“Sorry Bass… “

After a moment Rock couldn’t help himself, it felt too necessary, he whispered,  
“Thank you.”

“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! Something- actually- fucking happens!!! Man, it's hard to get a balance between things going too fucking slowly, and things going too fucking fast. Bleh.
> 
> Sidenote: You know who you are. I love you, I want to update more often just for your sweet, sweet, sweet comments. 
> 
> Another sidenote: I bought a cute ass megaman plushie from gamestop w a i t no, that's not what I....  
> I wrote a scene where Bass and Rock make out. Just cause it was late and idea was on my mind. No way the scene is actually going to be in the story, but it's fun to imagine.  
> ATM I have about 15 pages at 11 point ariel font of scenes I threw out and scrapped. At the very end, I think, I might upload all of them in a BONUS chapter where you get to be like, yeah I'm glad that didn't happen, or get sad it didn't happen.  
> I actually never wrote making out b4 despite being a horny 16 year old so ppppphhhhhhhhhffff
> 
> Maybe some of you can see where this fic (may) be going, but I estimate, atm... at least 5 more chapters. Maybe more, not less.  
> Sorry for the long ass note okay bye.


	8. Sing me the Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X takes the exams and eats lunch with Axl. Rock and Bass find the ghost of Uzamaki forest, Junji the cursed himself.

The scary mid-quarter exam was just tomorrow now. X had since thrown himself into studying and Zero had spent more time with Iris. X was fine with this. Studying took presence over everything else, for the time being at least.

Zero walked Iris home after school. X sometimes walked with Alia on days she didn't have her club, and some days Axl. Most of the time he opted to just walk alone.  
Then Iris asked to join lunch with him.  
That was a very awkward lunch, where X just sat and listened to their conversation and Axl pretended to not exist and not say a word as he tapped on his phone screen.

Rock told him that's how lunches with Bass and the rest of his friends were, and after that, he alternated between sitting with Bass and the rest of his friends. X had considered voicing this to Zero but eventually decided against it. They needed time to be able to talk.

However, she apparently asked him to join her as just the two of them, and he didn’t show up for the rest of that week, and now most of the current week.  
The distance that X was ignoring became obvious on the day of the actual exam. 

As all exam days went, they were exceedingly dull. Full of time spent just, waiting and doing nothing until the teacher announced it was time.  
But maybe that was just him. X always had finished his exams faster than the average person. He caught a glimpse of Zero scribblings away at his pages. One hand tangling with the hair on the top of his head. Clearly frustrated, he couldn’t blame him, classical Japanese was difficult for a lot of people. 

Math was probably Zero’s worst subject. English, he was always decent at, science wasn’t ever too difficult, math? Forget it. X tried just about everything, and not once could he help get the numbers to click together and make sense in his head. Maybe it’s just that he didn’t try. Zero was like that if he was bad at something; he liked to give up on it. Well, sometimes. If it was something he was truly invested in, he would give it a fair enough go. But finding anything the blonde was interested in was a feat in itself. X took pride in the fact he was interested in him at all, and maybe a bit lucky.  
But he was also interested in Iris. His heart squeezed, and he shook off those thoughts. 

After lunch would be the math exam. So during lunch, with his oversized and neatly packed bento box, he approached Zero.  
“Hey Z!”  
“Hm? Oh, hey X.” he gathered his things into his bag and stood up.  
“You want to study a bit over lunch? Roll packed me too big of a bento so I thought today we would-”  
“Sorry…” Zero looked a tad deflated and genuine. “Iris already made me a lunch.”  
“Oh… Well… That’s alright. I’m glad you are getting along… so well.”  
“I better not keep her waiting. We’ll talk later, alright?”  
X nodded. “See you.”  
“Later.” With a swish of his ponytail, he left.

“...”

He tried to calm himself down. But those thoughts of doubt that loomed in dark circles around his heart resurfaced and was consumed by jealousy.  
X was very careful to not show or mention one word of this in front of Zero, but he was secretly terrified he would leave him for Iris. X knew Zero didn’t view him as a replacement of Iris, if that were true he would have said he affection for him much earlier. But Zero himself didn’t know what he was, straight or gay or bisexual. What if he realized he was straight and dropped X like a sack of potatoes? What if he realized he still loved Iris? What if he just liked Iris more than him? What if thought Iris was better?

Even just thinking it X felt a bit overdramatic. None of them he could call genuine concerns, could he? I mean, there was a reason he hadn’t voiced any of them to Zero.  
But maybe he should…  
X mentally shook his head as he reached the rooftops, no, he didn’t want to make him feel guilty for spending time with somebody other than him for once. X can live and would be able to live without him.

“God, these fucking exams are kicking my ass!” Axl was griping and ranting about the exams as he shoved some of X’s bento in his mouth, his video game resting on the floor and sitting criss-crossed (applesauce).

“That classical-Japanese exam totally kicked my ass, I’d be surprised to get a C.” Axl sighed and grabbed a riceball, shoving it into his mouth and taking a large bite out. "Don’t get me started on science...”  
“I bet Alia will do great on that one,” X said absentmindedly.  
“The only one I’ll be doing any good on is English.”  
“Why do you say that?”  
“That’s the only one I studied for.” Another big bite.  
“Axl…”  
“What?”  
“You can’t complain about getting a bad grade and not studying.”  
“Not everyone is is a total teacher pet like you X,” Axl pouted.  
“This is why I wanted you to go to cram school.” X rolled his eyes.  
“Come on! I’m like, totally smart enough to get by without that stupid cram school! I skipped a grade y’know. “  
“Which one?”  
“...5th.”  
“Axl you can’t brag about skipping 5th grade, “ X snorted.  
“Why not?!”  
“Listen, there’s still time to review about the one you are really worried about. “  
“Fiiiiine.”

Axl got iffy when it came to school. He was a natural at it, really. It was surprising he hadn’t skipped more than just one grade to X. He was kinda like Zero how he would give up. He was different in how he gave up when something didn't come naturally to him. He had “gifted child syndrome” where if something came difficult, he didn’t know what to do and would shut down. Not even put in the extra effort. He spent most of his time playing video games, and while he seemed happy doing just that, and his grades never once slipped past a C+, X worried about him sometimes. Perhaps he should do more for him.

Dammit, he really shouldn't be thinking about this now. He shoved thoughts about Axl aside and tried to put more focus on the exam.

If g(x)=9x2–21x–6, use synthetic division to find g(3). Let’s see…

Movement from the corner of his eyes alerted his gaze over to Zero. He was erasing something on his paper. That wasn’t especially remarkable. What was that his bod posture was much more relaxed, his other hand was sitting comfortably on the desk, and he seemed to actually be working. Rather than making up answers.

X hoped he wasn’t cheating. He didn't like thinking about Zero that way but it was almost too uncharacteristic for him. Then again, maybe forcing him to tag along to cram school helped more than he thought?  
He’d have to ask afterschool, maybe if he caught him before he left…  
Now focus X, focus! 9x2 is 18...

 

When the exams were done and over with X is left feeling he did okay. He knows he knew most of the material at least, although it is nearly impossible to get all of the questions right, surely he got most of them right. Though, he couldn’t really think of any he might have gotten wrong.

“Zero!” Zero’s hair flounced around as he faced him.  
“How’d you do on the exams?”  
“...Alright, I suppose. “ he mused, “Iris had helped me out. I actually understood something on the math exam.” he chuckled with a smile.

X swallowed down the sinking disappointment, determined to deal with it later, and put on a smile. “That’s great, that’s she’s been able to help you out.”

“If you want, you can walk with us today. “  
X tried to wave the suggestion off, “No, no it’s fine.”  
“...Are you sure?”  
“Positive,” he lied.  
“...Well alright.” Zero spun on his heel, and his shimmering hair followed behind. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn’t you say yes? It would’ve felt awkward but you can’t let that bitch take your man like-  
X cringed at the horrible thoughts his mind was spouting like a leaky faucet and tried to shake them off. Jealously ran rampant through every nerve of his body, a feeling he hated.  
Iris was not a bad person. He never knew her as well as Zero, but he knew her well enough to know she was sweet and none of her actions had maliciousness to them. There was no reason to be jealous.  
“Oh yes there is, “ his mind countered. She managed to get Zero to at least somewhat understand algebra. Something he never accomplished. What if she was capable of much more? We needed to shut the bitch down before she-

“Oh shut it,” X told himself. There is nothing, nothing at all to be jealous.  
Nothing at all.

Just as he passed by an alleyway, the sleeve of his shirt was yanked and he was shoved harshly against the brick wall. His head banged painfully against the hard surface and his shoulder blades dug into said wall. X's eyes squeezed shut as he cried out in pain.

“Finally.” X’s eyes opened at the familiar voice, widening at the familiar purple motorcycle helmet.  
“Vile,” he croaked out.  
“How do you feel? Not having your precious fucking boyfriend around to protect you?”  
“V-Vile please-”  
“Shut. Up.” He growled, grip on him tightening.

“Yeah, shut up!” Someone guffawed, X could just make out the figure of Penguin and Eagle standing behind him.  
Next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground by a blow to the face.

When all was said and done, and Vile and his goons had left, leaving one hacking spit on his side, and a grumble how he was “loser,” X could not move.  
Well, he could, but his body felt too weak to even sit up. Standing up was out of the question. He had seen what Vile was capable of in the past, and he knew that Vile had held back for whatever reason unknown. He could have easily broken several body parts. But he should be thankful, after a day, maybe two, of rest he would back to normal. 

His possessions hadn’t fared better. Vile stole his notebooks from his bag, gloating as he helplessly laid on the ground, ripping pages after page out and strewing them about the dirt alley. He also smashed his phone onto the ground, just to rise reaction out of him if X were to guess. 'If he were smarter he would have pawned it off instead,' X thought.  
But then again, he wasn’t really worried about the rest of his bag sitting in the trash. They were all just stuff anyway, pages that could be retrieved and phones could be bought new again. He was more worried about what would Zero’s reaction be.

He sighed, again, just thinking about how enraged would be. He would probably kill Vile if X was anymore roughed up then he already was. But then again... Zero had a rough time when it came to holding back. The guy didn’t know his own strength sometimes.  
X hoped he would have enough strength to get up soon. He was hungry and wanted to get home.

 

A twig snapped under Rock’s foot.  
“Ah!” he cried out in surprise.  
“If you do that again, I’m going to leave your ass behind,” Bass growled.  
Rock nodded. He gazed around the scenery. Uzamaki forest was gorgeous and dark. The trees were overgrown with lush vines of thick leaves, and reached high, high into the sky. The only light being occasional peeks of sunlight from between the leaves. The noisy chirping of cicadas filled the sweet summer hair, accompanied by the crunching of leaves under their feet.

SNAP!

“AH!”

“Why are so goddamn jumpy?!” Bass looked at him with a scowl.  
“A-ah, I’m just nervous… What if he’s behind us?”  
Bass rolled his eyes and slowed his pace so they were walking side-by-side. “I’m starting to regret agreeing to do this. Listen, just shut up, he usually doesn’t show up if he hears people talking.”

Rock wanted to ask how he knew that, but bit his tongue and took his advice of staying silent.

His mind was occupied. Dad had been staying over at work more often, and not coming back until morning more and more often. These things were beginning to worry Rock. The past week also hasn't had much for spending time with Bass. Wily grounded Bass, and while he didn’t ever listen to Wily usually, he threatened to get rid of Treble. There aren’t a lot of things Bass was scared of, but losing Treble was one of the big ones.

Rock told X this, and he tsk’d and shook his head.  
“That will just make him hate and rebel against him more.”

He was now starting to butt heads with him at school. Like earlier that week…

It was morning time. The class had started but Wily had fallen asleep as usual and the class was filled with hushed whispers in attempts to not stir him awake. Someone had written on the chalkboard a cheerful “16 days until summer vacation!”  
Ah, summer… in just about 2 weeks… He could already hear the fireworks and taste the chocolate covered bananas sold at festival stalls…. ‘What does Bass do during summer vacation?’ He wondered.  
Castor and Pollux, a pair of silver-headed twins (who were also known as the Gemini twins at school) were playing a video game together and occasionally snipped at each other.  
“Go this way!”  
“No, I’m already going that way!” 

Cut was messing with kirigami. What was kirigami?  
Well, it was kinda like origami but you cheat and use scissors (but not glue). If you asked Cut about it, you'd get an earful about it being “so much better than origami”. Shadow disagreed. He was the son of a well-known family who owned a ninja house. He had dark hair, stunning purple eyes, and wore a blood-red scarf. He butted heads with Cut and called him out; saying outright that kirigami was “cheating” and only origami could show true talent in the world of papercraft (whatever that meant). They would get into petty fights where they would both create something, Shadow using origami, and Cut kirigami, and then get a third party to rate it. It would usually end in a tie and then they would rip apart each other's creations. It was stupid, sure, but he knew it made Cut happy. He really enjoyed ragging on Shadow and perpetuate the weird feud they had going on.

Rock had to admit, some of the things they made with just paper were impressive.

Things hadn’t quite progressed to the point of a “duel” but they were both giving each other dirty looks.  
Roll was passing notes back and forth with Kalinka, the daughter of Dr. Cossak. A family friend of Lights and would occasionally take breaks from his teaching job to help Light. Whatever it was he did, he was being vaguer about it these days.  
Ice had his nose in yet another book about the artic. Wait, was it? Rock tilt his head to the side and leaned down to get a look at the cover. It read: “The Worst Journey In the World” There was a picture of some gruff looking men wearing winter gear. Results: inconclusive. Most likely had something to do with the artic, but what Rock couldn’t be sure.

There were a few other people doing whatever. Like Needle, knitting a blue scarf that matched his hair, or Time, scowling down at the dozens of watches (and occasional tamagotchi wrist watch) that littered up his arm until they reached his forearm. He was either feeding one of his tamagotchi’s or resetting one of the watches. The amount of tapping was suspicious, so he suspected it was the former and not the latter.

Rock sighed. He had nothing to do. He had no scissors to cut things up, no paper to fold, no books to read, no games to play, and nobody to pass notes with, he couldn’t knit, and he had no watches to reset or tomogatchi’s. He was utterly and throughly bored.  
He stared at the empty seat near the back. Bass was gone, which was weird.

Then, the door opened. Wily jumped out of his seat at the lick, a habit he acquired after being accused of sleeping at work. Everyone stared at the door. Rock’s heart skipped a bit once he saw it was Bass. That defiant blonde streak and stood out from his otherwise raven hair smirked at him. Bass glowered at the class, and slammed the door behind him, stomping loudly to his seat. 

The rest of the class was in a scramble to cover up what they had been doing, Ice quietly put the book in his desk, Roll slipped her note under her journal. Needle stuffed his creation into his bag, Castor and Pollux slipped their devices into their pockets after slamming it shut, and Cut put the scissors on the empty desk next to him and the paper scraps in said desk. Finally, Time rested his arms on his desk, hands neatly folded as if he had done not one thing wrong

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Wily’s eyes scanned the room and rested on Bass.  
“Nice of you to join us.”  
He huffed.  
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy joining me afterschool today. Detention, and no TV tonight either. “  
Bass rolled his eyes and there were a few snickers sprinkled through the class. Rock felt sympathetic.

Wily snapped at the class, “Shut your mouths all of you and open up your textbooks to page 191 and complete pages 192-196 by next class. No exceptions.”  
The class groaned. 

Needless to say, Dr. Albert Wily’s parenting is truly A+ quality. X also told him that Wily had told the reason why he hated Light so much, Zero had only mentioned this to him and didn’t go into depth on what the reason actually was.

Rock thought it was weird he hadn't said but had held his tongue.

Bass didn’t show up to lunch any longer, and their sleepover was (for the time being, Rock had his hopes for it, as Bass didn’t seem to despise the idea) canceled.  
Radio silence except for the occasionally exchanged looks at school. Just as when Rock was starting to get worried, that day Bass stood outside the school fence

“What do you want?” The venom in Roll’s voice made both Cut and Ice flinch.  
“I’m not intrested in talking to you.” Bass’s eyes narrowed. “Are you going?”  
“Going where…?” Rock asked.  
“The woods. Find your brother or whatever.”  
“WHAT?!” Roll yelled.

“C-could you hold on a minute?”  
With hardened eyes, Bass said, “You have 5 minutes." Then walked off.

“What is going on?!” Roll demanded.  
“W-well you see, a couple days ago, Bass told me he goes into the forest, and h-he runs into this person thee and I-I’m thinking it’s Blues-”  
“Why haven’t you told me before now?!?!”  
“I was going to a-”  
“After you kissed Bass?!”  
Rock stammered with his face as red as a pepper, that was when Cut stepped in.

“Alright, alright break it up. Rock you don’t need to be so red we totally knew you were aaaaall over Bass like a fly on freshly baked apple pie.”  
“I wouldn’t say it like that.” Ice deadpanned.  
Cut gave Ice a look and continued, "I digress, as your bestest friend in the world, we are upset you never told us.”  
“Why him?! Of all people?!” Roll stomped her foot in frustration.

“Times up.” Rock looked between Bass and Roll, who was sending not-so subtle glares at Bass.  
“We’ll talk about this later.” she grumped.  
Rock nodded and ran off with Bass.

He sighed, thinking about Roll settled a large weight on his chest. He did feel guilty about not telling her, but how was he supposed to? she made it clear she hates him. If he were to tell her, no matter how he’d get the same reaction he just got. But maybe she would be a little less upset if he said something earlier…

Oh well…

Bass stopped. Rock gave him a quizzical look, he opened his mouth to say something and Bass gave him the signal to shut up.  
He whispered, “I think he’s close.”

Rock felt kind of silly as if they were tracking down some sort if wild deer rather than his own brother. That is, he did have a few doubts about it being his brother. What if it wasn’t? What if it was some mystery person hat looked similar to him?

His doubts disappeared right before his very eyes.  
It was him.  
It really was him.  
Granted, he did look a bit older, but being away for over a year would do that. He also looked exceptionally dirty, much worse than Bass when he came over that night. Forget sticks and leaves in his hair, there was a whole forest, brown hair strewn about and uncombed in months, with several leaves and a large stick tangled inside. While you were at it, forget smudges of dirt on his face, his hands were covered in a thick layer of dirt, and his face a thin layer, but still dirt nonetheless.

His once trademarked bright-yellow scarf was almost grey, his red rainboots that came up almost to his knees were caked with mud on the bottoms and were a much more dulled shade of red than how Rock remembered them when they were new.

Blue didn’t seem to notice them, with a tattered bag on his back, he wandered across the most floor, occasional bursts of light relfecting jis dark shades.  
Rock wondered what to do. There was a reason he hid here, he knew that neither him or Roll or X would come looking for him here.  
Maybe he should just do it. What is the worst that culd happen?

Bass quietly hissed at him, “What are you planning on doing?”  
“Calling out to him,” Rock whispered back.  
“That’s a bad idea.”  
“What else am I supposed to do?”  
Bass thought about it, “...Fair point. Go for it then. Not like I know him anyway..."

Rock cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled, “OI! BLUES!”

Blues flinched and faced around to them. Seeming to freeze in shock.  
“Blues…” Rock breathed out, he rushed forward, feet bounding the dirt, thinking of what to say next, a million things but none seem quite right.

Blues turned on his heel and ran. While both expected and unexpected, Rock was determined to not let go of him and sped up. Blues jumped over the thick and deep roots of a tree, and his scarf flew behind him, rippling through the air.  
“Blues! Wait!”  
He didn’t even look behind him, and trudged through the river, hopping up and over rocks, coming out on the other side and still sprinting to no end.

Rock gupled, the was moving too fast for his liking, and while not deep, the rocks were most likely slippery. He swallowed and reminded himself that if he wanted to talk to Blues, this would just have to be another hurdle to overcome.  
Eyes narrowing in determination, and a heart thumping in his ears, he jumped into the river.

 

“Idiot.”  
Rock woke up and was greeted by a pounding headache and Bass’s eyes boring into his own. His blush only grew when he realized his head was resting on Bass’s lap.  
“W-what-”  
“Do you know how deep that river was? Hardly even one foot deep, but of course you, as on as you stepped one foot into that water, you hit your head. Idiot.”  
“Call him an idiot again and see what happens.”

Blues?

Tilting his head to the side, he could clearly see Blues staring down at him. He wondered what he was thinking underneath his shades. 

Bass sneered, lip curling up at him, “You’re an idiot too. Of all the places to run away from, why the fucking Light mansion? Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Are you such an overprivileged shit-stain with your head too far up your ass to understand?”

Blues stiffened, “I’ve lived without a home for over a year and you call me privliaged?”  
“Homeless by choice you blockhead, you could’ve gone back any fucking time.”  
“You seem to have a talent for getting people you just met to heavily dislike you.”  
“Oh, we’ve met before. Ah, my mistake, I just remembered, you think I'm not worthy of being remembered.” he spat.

“...I’ve come to make sure you were alright.” Blue said, looking at Rock, “I’ll be leaving now," He stated, turning away, Bass very audibly tch’d.

“W-wait Blues!” Oh jeez, he got up to fast, that was a mistake, his head spun and he winced with pain.  
“Don’t faint again,” Bass said, holding onto him.

“Blues!” He called out again, aw jeez, oh no, he’s going to leave without him getting even a word in. Think, say anything, so he can get a word in. “I miss you!”

He froze.

“I missed you so much! It hasn’t been the same without you!”  
“...You’ve been doing just fine without me.” He said quietly.  
“That doesn’t mean I don’t need you! Bass, please, come back home!”  
“...Did he put you up to this?”  
“Who?” Rock asked.  
“Light.”  
“Dad? No, I found you because I wanted to.”  
“...Why?”  
“Becuase you’re my brother.”  
“That isn’t…” He exhaled, “I can't go back.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because… “ he sighed again, “You wouldn’t understand.”  
“I can’t understand if you don’t tell me why.”

“Jesus Christ cut the fucking vague bullshit already!” Bass suddenly yelled, “Listen here asshole, either fucking come with him or don’t, I’m not in the mood to stand here all fucking day. He isn't here to dance around your bullshit either! Now hurry up with an answer”  
Rock stuttered, flustered, “Y-you don’t have to-”  
Already sensing what he was going to say Bass snapped, "Shut up, without me you would never come back out of here alive. “

That was probably true.

“Now what is it? Yes or no?”  
Blues gazed at Bass, and finally gave an answer, an apathetic,  
“Fine.”

“Seriously?!” No way, no way he actually said yes?!  
"Only for a visit." He said firmly.  
"Well... Okay." Better than nothing.  
“Finally, we can finally get the fuck out of here, now come on.” Bass already started to walk off, Rock followed him, and to his delight, Blues did the same.

They mostly walked in mostly silence through the woods, and now entered back in Mega-Town or whatever, it was nearing past dinner time, as the sun still shined high up above, days getting longer and longer now.

Now he thought about it, Blues relationship with his dad wasn’t ever the best. He wasn’t mean or ill-spirited, it’s just he wasn’t exactly the most touchy-feely in the Light family. He avoided hugs and spent high amounts of time in his room. Usually strumming his bright-red guitar bass guitar and whistling. He didn’t have much in common with Dad at all, other than their love of music. Rock was now starting to wonder if there was something Dad didn’t tell him about Blues.

“Blues-”  
Bass interrupted, “Your Dad, or whatever, said I was welcome any time right?”  
“Uh, yeah.”  
“I’m staying over then. Fuck it, I don't feel like dealing with Wily’s bullshit. Let’s have that stupid sleepover you were talking about.”

 

Blues stopped in his tracks. “I knew you sounded familiar. You're that one?”  
“Who else would I be?”  
“...Rock, I know I don't have the right to say this, but what are you doing with him?"  
"You're right, you've been gone for over a year, you have no right to say anything at all." Bass snapped at him.  
"Easy Bass. I'll tell you what I've told everyone else. there's more to him than just... well, you know."  
"..." Blues was silent, and Rock missed Bass's surprised glance.

 

Blues stopped at the gate in front of well, what felt like used to be his home. Rock tried to give a smile of reassurance, but that didn’t soothe his nerves any.  
Rock stepped up the steps and knocked on the hard wooden door.  
Thunk, thunk.

The door opens, “there you are!” Roll’s voice calls out haughtily, and she glowered at Rock. “Where have you been?! We’ve already eaten! And you still have explaining to-” She gasped, and stopped her tirade at the sight of Blues.  
“Y… You’re.”

He raised his hand and waved a bit. In a split seond, she had pushed Bass and Rock out of the way, and thrown herself at Blues, squeezing him into a hug that would rival Light’s signiture bear-hugs.  
Blues stood, stiff as a board.

“Yeah, cute, I’m going to get something to eat, I’m starving.” Bass went inside the house, which was fine with Rock.  
“What’s all the fuss?”  
“Oh, X! You won’t believe it he, Bl- What happened to your face?!” His train of thought was interrupted by...  
“Oh, uh…” X gingerly touched the bandage on his left eye. “Oh, um that was…Just an accident-" His eyes widened, “Is that...”  
“Yeah, that’s what I was about to say! Blues is-”

“BLUES!” He ran over and joined the hug, squeezing both Roll and Blues.

Oh, why not.

Rock joined in. 

Something miraculous also happened, Blues actually hugged them back.

"....You forgive me?" He whispered.  
"Forgive you?! Of course!" X exclaimed.  
"If you don't leave us again." Roll pouted.  
"But..."  
"Dad won't be here until morning if you're worried about what he thinks."  
"You are staying the night right?" asked Roll.  
"...Okay."

Rock didn't expect the night to end like this, but that was fine.  
Blues was back. Maybe.  
He was aware that eventually, Roll would remember why she was mad at him. That wasn't exactly a conversation to look forward to...  
But he could forget until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the whole thing with Blues went kind of fast I know, but...  
> ...  
> You got me.  
> Also here's the first chapter title I actually like wheeeee


	9. Butter my ass and call me a biscuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cut says his famous line, X finds out the results of the exams and messes around with the science club. Meanwhile theres a few hugs and Zero's doing something totally sketch right under his nose.

Blues has been around for a week, and even though it doesn’t look as if he has any plans to leave anytime soon, his siblings are taking care to step around him. All secretly afraid a toe out of line would make him vanish again.

It is kinda weird to have him back but, in a good way! It’s nice having him around, it makes you wonder how you went so long without him around. However, he seems to feel guilty about something. Not just for leaving and not coming back, but for something else. What it could be they can’t be sure, Dad and Blues talked while they weren’t around, and do seem to be on good terms. He even ruffled Blues’s hair the other day, and he didn’t look upset.

So, Rock thinks to leave it as their business alone, and not to mention it. He’s just happy that Blues is back, and Dad took some time off to spend time with them all. It was relieving, he was beginning to look pretty miserable.

9 days until summer vacation. Cut is bouncing off the walls excited, and Rock feels the same. He is so, so, so ready to taste those chocolate-covered bananas. It certainly already feels like summer, with the temperature running so high not even the air conditioner can keep up, and nights have been spent without blankets and with fans running on high.

Roll hadn’t yet confronted him about his crush, but he’s expecting that to be any day now.

“Quit staring off into space!” Cut was staring at him, Rock looked around, dazed.  
“It’s lunchtime already?”  
“Uh, duh! Did you not hear the bell ring?”  
“... No…” It hit him, “Oh, shoot! I’m supposed to be sitting with Bass today!” He got up, his seat sliding behind him with a loud squeak.  
“Tell him not to wait for you after school. We’re going to have a nice talk when we get home.”  
The look Roll sent him sent shivers down his spine, he was hoping for a bit more time to avoid the cursed conversation, but lady luck was not on his side.

He nodded and ran off.  
“You know…” Ice and Roll gave Cut their attention, “I mean, you can butter my ass and call me a biscuit if I’m wrong-”  
“Cut, why.” Ice gave him a face of disgust.  
“But, I think, maybe, Bass is actually liking Rock?! I know that sounds insane-”  
“Because it is,” Roll scoffed, “It’s clear that this is all an act to get Rock close to him so he can hurt him! He’s actually falling for it to…” She groaned, Ice awkwardly patted her back  
“Eh, I don’t know about that. Remember 5th grade Drama? His acting was kinda wooden. Not a *sharp* *cut* off the block like this guy.”  
“Cut that literally didn’t make any sense whatsoever.” Ice looked at him with the most deadpan expression he ever had in his life.

Bass was chewing into Rock's lunch and talking about this that and the other when the topic of Wily came up.  
“I can’t fucking stand Wily. You know, all this time he’d been building up and keeping secret why he hates Light so much, and then he finally fucking told us-”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, guess fucking what? It’s because of 20-something years ago, Light didn’t fucking let him on stage while they were unveiling his creations. I told him, ‘are you fucking kidding me.’ He had the fucking balls to say, ‘I know right!’ like he was expecting us to agree with him. The Jerk. Even Zero laughed at him.

“...That’s… seriously it?”  
“Unfortunately.” Bass rolled his eyes, “Such a fucking coward.”

Rock didn't expect that to be the reason. He had expected something… a little more dramatic? Perhaps, instead. It was just so… lukewarm. But then again, he totally forgot to ask him about it, so his own fault for setting up false expectations for himself.  
“Oh, speaking of letting you over, I uh… Can’t let you come over today… Sorry.”

“Fine, I only came over for the free food anyway.” Bass took another bite of the rice ball in his hands. Rock wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. However, he wasn’t expecting that.  
To be honest, he was kinda disappointed.

“What’s with the face?”  
“...I was kinda hoping you enjoyed my company instead of just the food, “ Rock said carefully.  
“...” with a sigh, he finished the rest of the riceball and licked off the sticky grains of rice that stuck to his fingers.  
“Say this to anyone else, and I will kill you. That is a promise.”  
“O-okay?” He didn’t like how serious his voice is.  
“I kinda… sort of… like your company. I guess. “ he half shrugged. “It’s better than Quicks ever was. And is a hell of a lot better than Wily’s, or that giant wad, Zero.”  
“...you mean it?”  
“I guess- don’t you dare try to hug me. “  
“I-I wasn’t!”  
“You thought about it didn’t you?”  
“....Yeah. “ he admitted.  
Bass rolled his eyes and smiled. Just a teeny-tiny little bit. “You Lights…”  
It was a small thing, but it reminded Rock why he was crushing on him so hard. 

“...Alright. “  
“Alright?”  
“...just this once. “

“...” He was about to ask what he meant, but then it hit him with the force of one of Gut’s punches. “Are you-”  
“I better never hear about this again or…” he took a finger and slid it across his neck. Rock got the hint.  
Being as gentle as he possibly could have, he wrapped his arms around him, faces a little bit too close for him to be able to keep his heart under control. He hoped Bass couldn’t feel it's rapid pounding in his chest. Bass shoved him away after just a moment of this. He said,  
“That’s enough. Don't get any ideas, this doesn’t mean you can start hugging whenever the fuck you feel like, got it?”  
Rock nodded ferociously.  
“While you’re at it- quit acting so fucking gay.”  
“...” Now that he couldn’t guarantee.

 

Meanwhile, today was the day the results of the exams would be unveiled, and everybody would know who was ranked, who did the best, and the worst. X has always been high on the charts, ranking in the top 10 every time, and occasionally ranking 1st.  
It was posted during a free period, and-  
“X! X!”  
“Axl!”  
Axl rushed over to X, looking very very excited by something, his eyes full of light, and his already spiky hair standing on end, “Hey, Guess what X?! You got 2nd!”  
“Oh!” What a pleasant surprise, always nice to know that your efforts have paid off, “Who was 1st?”  
“Don’t know, didn’t pay attention. Guess what rank I am?”  
“Hmm… 10?”  
“Close! 12th!”  
“Hey, that’s almost top 10!” Maybe X didn’t need to worry about him after all,  
“You were worrying over nothing after all.”  
“I know…” He looked sheepish.  
“What about Zero?”  
“Dunno. Come on, hurry up!”

X followed him down the hallway, lagging behind him, there was a small crowd around the board, people coming into glance and then walk off again. There were about 100 students in the 2nd year, the year X is in, and those were the results that were posted.

Just like Axl had said, his name was at:  
#2- ライト、エックス

His eyes shifted upwards, to where the number one spot was.  
His heart sank.

#1- 田中、アイリス

Iris.  
She really was better than him.

No, you shouldn’t be thinking about something like that right now. Be happy for her, and for you, that’s really good-

That bitch deserves to be slammed into the ground by Vile, she can go and fuck herself-

SHUT UP SHUT UP!  
Remember what Zero told you…

 

“X, what happened.”  
“Oh, Zero!” He put aside his lunch and, well, one of his green eyes shimmered as the sigh of him. “I wasn’t expecting you!”  
“You know why I’m here.”  
X swallowed and gingerly touched his bandaged eye. He had been getting stares from it all day now, even Alia and her giggle party had asked about it, he gave them the same answer he did everyone else,  
“I ran into a doorknob.”  
It was a cliche answer, but a surprising amount of people believed it and said things like, “How did this happen?”  
“Pretty clumsy I guess.” He would respond and shrug his shoulders.

Vile had also given him a few smirks throughout the day, which made X feel uneasy. He knew the truth, and he now got away with it scot-free due to X’s lies.  
Though he didn’t feel uneasy as he did now. Confronted by the conversation he had been dreading.

“I-”  
“I don’t believe you ran into a fucking doorknob so don’t give me that.”  
“...”  
“It was Vile wasn’t it?”  
“...I’m… Not saying.”  
“Cut it out already X. Axl, back me up here.”  
“I’m not getting involved in yall's lovers spat or whatever you’re arguing about over there,” Axl said without looking up.  
“...X…”  
“...” Intentional silence on X's end.  
“Xavier.”  
Oh, Zero was really getting serious. Still, X looked away from him, shamefully.  
“...Don’t beat him up.” X said quietly.  
“Why would you even try to defend a creep like him?! God, look at yourself! And you’re telling me not to beat him up...” Zero shook his head like X was crazy.  
“Violence isn’t the answer to violence!”  
“He doesn’t listen to anything else!” Zero retorted.  
“Still there’s a-”

"ALRIGHT!” Axl screamed, “I HAVE HAD IT! Kiss and make up already! God… Why are you arguing over something this stupid?!” Axl, after saying what he needed looked back down at his game. He found it fishy not hearing any arguing for a few minutes; looked back up.  
“Oh god! I didn’t mean literally! I need bleach for my eyeballs! Ew, ew, ew, ewww!!!”

Zero had rolled his eyes at Axl’s immatureness while planting butterfly kisses on X’s cheeks and lips. X giggled, flushing pink.  
“I’m sorry…” He murmured.  
“No, I’m sorry.” Zero insisted.  
“I shouldn’t have tried to lie to you-”  
“No, you were in the right to, you’re right that violence isn’t… It’s just when I think about Vile’s smug face… and how he hurt you… If only I wasn’t-”  
“Oh, hush. Don’t blame yourself. Heaven forbid you hang out with someone other than me for once.”  
“Still… If I was there-”  
“Vile wouldn’t even have shown his face if you were there. “ X countered. “He’s just a coward.”

“Now that’s true.” Axl piped up.  
“...I need to get back at him somehow.”  
“I’m telling you don’t need to-”

The door swung open and they both jumped.  
“Zero?”  
“I-Iris.”  
“Why weren’t you at lunch?” She sounded hurt and gave him puppy eyes. X’s heart squeezed in pain.  
“I was just asking X something.” He said coolly.  
“...Well okay…”  
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before. It was… uh, important.”  
“It’s okay!”  
“Also I won’t be able to walk with you after school today.”  
X’s eyebrows flew up in surprise.  
“You’ll walk me tomorrow won’t you?”  
“Maybe, I’ll have to see.”  
“Well...Okay. See you!”  
“Yeah, see you.”

“..You mean it?” X asked.  
“Do you really think I’ll let you go on your own after what just happened?”  
“Fair point.”  
“...You know I…” Zero swallowed, and his face flushed bright red, “Really like you or whatever….”  
X smiled; then pecked him on the lips.

He said, even with Iris still fresh on his mind, he really likes you. You know what that really means? He practically said he loved you.  
And, he’s been trying to spend more time with you, and not just Iris. He’s been having lunch with you. Get over yourself already! Don’t you remember what happened when you walked home?

It hadn’t even been a few minutes, and they were scarcely 10 ft from the school when X dared to utter these words out loud:  
“I want to hold your hand.”  
“X…”  
“What?”  
“You know we can’t.”  
“Well, why not?”  
“Vile-”  
“Vile this, Vile that. He already beat me up-” Zero flinched, “-Without knowing our relationship, what is there to lose?”  
“...”

Zero breathed and hesitantly grabbed his hand. X felt his rough calloused palms against his own, and it grasped his own hand tenderly.  
“If you regret this later, don’t blame me.”  
X just smiled and leaned his head against Zero’s shoulder.

“X.”  
The call of his name brought him back into reality, “Zero!”  
“Did you see my rank?”  
X shook his head, “I haven’t. What is it?”  
He pointed to the board.

#34- ワイリー、ゼロ 

That was much, much better of a score than Zero usually had. He was usually in the bottom 50.  
It was her doing.  
Stop it stop it stop it-

“That’s amazing Z! Good job!”  
“Thanks. Iris invited me to get some ice cream or whatever to celebrate, don’t know why-”  
“Because that’s an amazing score!” 

That fucking bitch-

“You should come with, to celebrate you getting second.”

And be around that bitch? I think-

X shook his head, “Oh no, I couldn’t. She invited you, after all.”  
“Hm…” After a moment Zero said, “Sorry.”  
“For?”  
“Not spending a lot of time with you.”  
“Oh! Oh, it’s fine, really, don't worry about it! I’m happy for you.”  
“...X…”  
“Hm?”  
His eyes widened as if he saw something, “Nevermind. See you later.” he rushed off.

He rushed off.

Axl had something to do after school today, which was unfortunate, he wanted something to distract him from his thoughts.  
Why, why was he so jealous? He should be happy for Zero, he should be ecstatic for him…  
He should…  
But why isn’t he? Why isn’t he happy for him? Why, why am I so jealous?  
God…

“X! X!”  
Alia waved at him and her eyes shimmered. Her blonde hair was like gold silk in the sun.

“Hey, Alia! Long time no talk!”  
“Yeah…” She rubbed the back of his head, “Been busy with my club. Oh! Got a minute?”  
“Uh, sure. What’s this about?” he asked.

“Just come look what we’re working on!”  
“Well, alright, but I’ll have to go back home eventually.”  
“It will only take a minute!”

X followed Alia, the science club was a lab room that afterschool was used as the clubroom. Her club had a reputation for being full of weirdos, so they only had just met the requirement of 4 people needed to be an official club, emphasis on barely.

There was a sign taped to the door, it was a purple piece of construction paper that in pink letters read:  
“科学のクラブ”

There was also a green picture of a green bubbling beaker, with a cute smiley face :)

Without knocking, she opened the door and slipped on a white lab coat and goggles, she handed a pair to X who put them on.

The room was dim and quiet. The members, Dynamo, Lumine, and Gate each working on something different. Although what it was X couldn't see.  
The room was quaint, shelves and cabinets on the sides full of various materials such as glass beakers and microscopes and miscellaneous other items. The tables they were working on we're wide and spread throughout the room in neat rows. The seats were bright red stools that became uncomfortable after long periods of time. In the corner, behind his desk, was known as hornet-sensei, an enthusiast of Bees. He had a large pot-belly and liked to wear yellow and black striped shirts under his lab coat. He was supposed to be watching them, but Alia told him he was usually asleep.

Lumine, Gate, and Dynamo were all weird to X. Lumine had his lavender-colored hair that flipped at the very end and his head down. Peering through the inside a microscope. His eyes were a piercing orange-red color. He used to be school-president, and once used the student body as his eyes and ears, he had practical control of the school. Until Zero recorded one of his insane rants and sent it to Principal Sigma, where he was saying how stupid he was and that he had him under his thumb. X is sure if he said something like that, he would be expelled right away. Lumine had detention for the rest of the year and stripped of the right that is student-council president. He seemed to be content in the science club. But really who knew…

Gate was writing something down, his clear purple eyes peering over the paper and matching his short purple hair with fades on the sides. Gate was kinda… well, he had issues. In middle school, he used to maniacally laugh during lessons and go on crazy tirades how everyone was beneath him and something or other about the Messiah. Needless to say, everybody thought he was crazy and he was bullied mercilessly by the other students. X felt much sympathy for him, but any attempt to stand up for him was shut down by Gate himself. Saying that he was “Just a B-Rank hunter.” X always wondered what he meant by that. This continued until he lashed out “them” violently, with a pair of scissors in his hand. Threats to kill. Not even Vile would touch him after that.  
This was also a blessing in disguise, he finally, finally got the help he needed and never lashed out or went on insane tirades after. X concluded he most likely had some sort of mental illness that was left untreated, and his sympathy only grew. Still, even after getting better nobody but Alia and the members of the science club dare to get near him.

Finally, there was Dynamo. Dynamo was probably the least… strange of them. He had long silver-blue hair that reached the middle of his back and a strong figure. Broad shoulders, and a skinny torso and waist. His eye color was usually hidden behind a pair of orange-tinted glasses.  
He didn’t have mental issues like Gate or was insanely narcissistic like Lumine, he was just…  
X didn’t like the word, but weird honestly fit him best.  
He was just… so out there. Cocky, with a touch of narcissism, and well…  
He loved a good fight. He was smart, and talent in the field of science, but, even so, he had a death wish.  
When he first moved in, the first person he challenged to a fight was Zero. He did this by yanking his hair with all his might in home economics. X forgave him for punching his teeth out. In Zero’s words, it was a “dick move.”

The next person he challenged was Vile. Vile didn’t hold back, it was a couple of weeks though before he came back with crutches.  
He still didn’t give up. He challenged everybody he could into a duel, and sometimes still routinely picked fights with Zero, and even a few times X. He declined, and Dynamo understood, so he said.

“Why’d you bring the nerd?” Lumine asked.  
“I thought he would appreciate what we have been working on.”  
“Yeah, yeah. He’d call us insane like everyone else.”  
Alia rolled her eyes, “Gate?”  
“Yes Alia?” he continued to write.  
“Can you get out the cat?”  
“Fine.” He got up and went into the other room.

“Ah, X! Listen here, don’t be offputted by what he brings out! We have given that cat food and water and a place to lounge here in the lab, although obviously away from places it could tamper with results.” Dynamo suddenly proclaimed.  
“Oh, I thought Cat was a nickname for something.”  
“No, it’s an actual cat,” Alia interjected.  
“Oh. Why do I need these…?” He referred to the goggles.  
“Make you feel sciency.”  
“Sciency… I expect more from the club president.” Lumine said sourly.  
“Oh put a cork in it Lumine.”  
Gate came back with a cage with an orange tabby cat inside.

“Ah, thank you, Gate!”  
“Of course.”  
Alia sat the cage down on an empty table, eyes shining. “This is just an orange tabby cat right?”  
“Well no... “ X examined it more closely when it was out of its cage, and gently stroked its head. “It’s pregnant.”  
“Correct!” Alia exclaimed. “Pregnant with what though?”  
“Er… with kittens?”  
“With dogs!” Gate chimed in.  
“What?!”  
“Well, we think anyway,” Alia explained. “See, we found it as a stray. Gate found out it was a female, Lumine has a male dog, he came up with an ingenious idea.”  
“Like usual.”  
“See what happens if you fertilized a cat with-”  
“I get the idea.” X said, “Isn’t that kind of… wrong?”

“Thing owes us it’s life. We found it when it was just skin and hair and bones.” Gate said coldly. The other members nodded.

X was quickly realizing why the club had such a rotten reputation, and he was desperately trying not to think of what must have been done in order for the cat to be… “fertilized.” First, he had a question on his-  
“What do you think?!” She smiled at him, a heart-warmingly sweet one.  
“...It’s interesting.I'm curious to see what happens.” At least that part was honest.  
“Oh, I knew you’d like it!” Alia clasped her hands together and squealed  
“I would love to stay, but I need to get home. It’s going to be dinner time soon.”  
“Oh! Right. Sorry to keep you so long.” he took his goggles off and handed them to her.  
“It’s fine, nice talking to you.”  
“You too X! Stop by sometime, I miss ya sometimes!” She said playfully.  
“I will. See you!”  
“See ya!” She waved as he left.

He mind really didn’t know how to process what just happened. He only noticed how on the way out there was a poster that read:

“Fireworks festival! Last day of school!!!!” 

Curiously, it was in English.

Huh. He’d have to ask Zero to go with him to that.

But on his mind on the way home was not of the fireworks, but how odd they all were.

 

X knocked on the door to his home. After a moment, Blues opened the door.  
“Hello, Blues!”  
“Hey. Here in time, Roll was just about to explode on you being late.”  
X stepped inside and Blues closed the door behind him.

 

“What did you do all day?” X asked. He would be starting school again after summer vacation, but for now, he had the whole house for himself.  
“Watch TV. Eat. Not much else to do forgot how nice it was to lounge around on the couch. By the way, you got any idea what’s been eating Roll?”  
“Hm?” he raised an eyebrow.  
“She’s mad at Rock for something, but I have no clue what. It’s starting to bother me.”  
“Hm…” X feels starts to feel a tad bit guilty for not paying as much attention to her as he probably should have, he has just enough as a responsibility to look out for her as much as Rock, and quite frankly he hadn’t been fulfilling that part of the big brother role properly.  
If he had, he’d probably realized something was off earlier.

“I’ll talk to her about it later.”

“Finally! You’re here! Roll yelled at him from the kitchen. “We were getting tired of waiting!”  
Everyone else was already situated at the table. Blues sat down at the end, Light was at the head, and Rock n’ Roll sat on the left side. X took a seat near Blues.

Everybody (except Roll) clasped their hands together and said “いただきます！”  
Then dug in.  
“Delicious as always Roll!” Light proclaimed and took another bite of the chicken parmesan.  
“Thanks!” She beamed, “I tried a new recipe, so I wasn't sure if it would turn out alright.”

“Oh, it’s just fine.”  
“Everything you cook is delicious!” X said genuinely.  
Blues nodded in agreement, Rock stayed silent.  
“Oh, stop!”

Once Light had finished, he put his plate up, kissed the top of Roll’s head, thanked her for dinner, and headed upstairs.

“Is everyone done eating?” Roll asked.  
“I am.” X put his plate up while Blues was wiping his face of the red sauce around his mouth.

She slammed her hand on the table, which practically made everyone jump.  
“Family meeting time! Nobody move!”  
“Wait, what’s this about?” Blues asked, then took a sip from his cup of pineapple juice.  
“Roll please-”  
“Rock has been crushing on Bass and he didn’t tell anyone!”  
Blues choked on his juice, and bent over, coughing harshly after forcing himself to swallow the liquid before he sprayed it all over the table. X patted his back a few times, while Rock was very interested in the floor tiles.

“R-rock I know, I know I have no right to say this, but, just, why?”  
“...Cause…” he mumbled.  
“I think we should be supporting him.” X boldly claimed.  
“Supporting him?! Are you insane?!” Roll gave him a look of disbelief.  
“No, but you know you can’t choose who you love.” 

“why does it even matter who I did or didn’t tell?!” Rock yelled out with a red face and not at all making eye contact.  
“Cause you’re my brother!”  
“I told X!”  
“You told X but didn’t tell me?!”  
“How could I? You hate him!”  
“Of course I hate him! There would be days he hurt you so bad you came home crying!”  
“I remember that. “ Blues said. 

“He really isn’t as bad as you guys think, seriously!” Rock knew he was drawing at straws, but he wanted to keep his “promise” (threat more like.) to Bass.  
“Yeah, he’s worse,” Blues mumbled.  
“Amen!” Roll agreed.  
“Guys! You’re not even trying to get to know him!”  
“I think we know him enough, I mean, it’s not like we’ve been living around him for our entire lives.”  
“...” Rock sighed, “He really can be nice sometimes….”

“Ugh! That’s just what he WANTS you to believe!”  
“Rock, don’t believe anything they are saying. You keep doing what are doing.” X encouraged.

“X, you can’t tell me there’s nothing suspicious here!”  
“Honestly, I kind of agree with Roll here.” Blues admitted.  
X hummed, “well, I admit, it was rather off-putting at first…”  
“Oh.”  
“But you know, I believe Rock. He wouldn’t be crushing anyone without a reason, right?”  
Roll banged her head against the table, and Rock is rather sure that Blues rolled his eyes, even without seeing his eyes. 

“You sounds like Dad…” Roll groaned into the table.  
“Probably. Is that why you waited until he left?”  
“...”

“Oh, by the way, Blues, while we’re all here, there’s something I should tell you…”  
“Well, then, spit it out. “  
“You remember Zero right?”  
“No I’m pretty sure I haven’t forgotten him, he came over last week.”  
“Oh, that’s right… well, we’re dating. “ he said, as casually as one could say something like that. 

Rock, was of course, unsurprised.  
But the other two didn’t feel the same.  
“What. “  
“WHAT?!”

“Hm? X looked confused, “didn’t I already tell you…?”  
“No, you didn’t!”  
“Oh. Sorry…”  
“...it’s fine. You guys are sooooo cute together!”

“Wait, you forgive him just like that?!” Rock was just a tad annoyed with Roll.  
“Well, duh! Zero is actually nice… when he isn’t kind of…” she searched for the word, “...standoff-ish. “

“What are you talking about?” Light came back down the stairs, smiling at them, his voice in a way it didn’t sound like an accusation. 

“X is daring Zero and didn’t tell any of us!”  
“R-Roll!”  
“Ah, I see.”

“W-wait you-”  
“I understand why you didn’t say anything earlier. It can be hard sometimes to find the right moment when needing to tell something important.”  
“...”  
“And Rock…”  
“Y-yeah?”  
“Good luck.”  
Rock beamed, “thanks, dad!”

“Ugh.” Roll scoffed.

 

Later that night, when the sun has set and the moon is shining fully, Zero attempts to sleep. Just now sinking into the old mattress and have the comfort of sleep wash over when a familiar voice calls out to him.

 

“Zero.”

“Iris?! What are you doing here?!”

“I had to talk to you Zero.”

“You couldn’t say it earlier…?”

“No. “

“What is it?”

“You have to choose. “

“...I can’t have a little more time?”

“No. it must be now.”

“...This would make X happier right?”

“I don’t know. Would it?”

“...This is better for him. “

“If you believe that.”

“I accept… I hope he doesn’t suspect anything.”

“I hope so as well. Oh, Zero… I’m so happy to have you. Once everything goes smoothly, we can be happy together, like we should be.”

“He’ll be happy too.”

“Yes, he will. We’ll all be happy. We can all have our happy ending, just follow my plan okay?”

“...Plan?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s so urgent for you to answer tonight. I’ve planned everything out, if it goes according to it, he will be just as happy with Alia as he was with you.”

“...Alright. For X.”

“And our future, Zero.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters pretty w i l d. Yeah, all over the place, and there has been surgery here, with tidbits and scenes used and pasted. I don't know how I did this in 3 days but I did, and here it is. I hope it isn't too conveluted for you lovely folks at home. *note is thrown. Reads:*  
> "Yo wtf was up with that bullshit at the end."  
> I am not and will not take any questions at this time. Good night everybody! It is midnight at the time I'm posting this. No, i do not have a life. And no, I don't know why i deserve all the compliments I have been getting so...  
> thank you ;-; Everybody.


	10. Alia's michief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X and Alia get mixed up in some mischief, something catches Lumine's eye and Zero thinks about X.

It was just another day of school. Only, except for the buzzing excitement that had flooded the building. For there was only a full week left, and then finally summer will be here. X was walking to school, bag hitting against his side with the rhythm of his steps.

But still, just another perfectly normal day.

Or at least, it was a normal day until when Alia ran up to him, calling his name.  
Her eyes were clouded and red, and tear stains ran down her cheeks.  
“Alia? Are you okay?”  
“Oh it’s awful, just awful!” she wailed.  
“What happened Alia?” He asked, alarmed.  
“Everything in the club was destroyed! The only thing that wasn’t touched was that damn cat!” she sniffled and wiped a tear away.  
“What?! Who would do that?!”  
“I-I don’t know! There are no security cameras in the room so it’s impossible to tell! All of our hard work and experiments, and all the equipment…” tears spilled down her cheeks. “Who knows when we can start the club back up again…”

X gave her a hug and patted her back soothingly.  
“It’s going to be okay Alia, nobody was hurt right?” he tried to say gently.  
“N-no…”  
“Them it’s all just stuff. I’m sure they can re-order the stuff right away, they can’t just not have the equipment right? I’m sure by the time Summer’s over they’ll be brand new equipment, even better than before!”  
“Y-yeah…” she wiped her face, “Yeah! I guess you’re right. Thanks, X.”

“Although, it is worrying…” He frowned a bit, “Why would anyone want to do that?”  
“Who knows, I certainly don’t… Now that I think about it, I should warn you.”  
“About..?”  
“Principal Sigma’s going to be very angry. He might try to blame you…”  
That made every strand of hair stand on end. He’s seen the fury of Principal Sigma in person, and just thinking about it scared him half to death.

“...Yikes…” He muttered.  
“Yeah. I’m kind of worried about the other members, you remember how… weird they can be. The club was a way to occupy their time. I hope they don’t start doing anything odd… Especially Lumine.”  
“School’s about to start, can we walk and talk?” X asked.  
“O-Oh yeah!” They walked side by side, Alia took a handkerchief in her pocket and wiped at her face with it.

The girl's uniforms during the summer were similar to the boys, thin white cotton polo shirts. Only instead of tan shorts and long pants, they wore skirts in the colors black with a white stripe, and of course, the black socks and shoes that you couldn’t get away from even in summer.  
Also instead of ties, they could tie a ribbon around the collar. Alia’s ribbon was pink, and you could tell she wasn’t wearing an undershirt today…  
X really hadn’t meant to look down… there, but her bright strawberry-patterned… bra caught his eye and he had to avert his eyes back up.  
Alia was very pretty, her blonde hair and blue eyes were after his heart, but there was no way... He didn’t want to think about her like… that.

“Why are you worried about Lumine?”  
“I don’t need to remind you what happened last year, do I? He’s kind of a snake if I’m honest… I think he’s trying to overthrow me as club president. Although, I really don’t know why he would go through the effort when everybody thinks we’re weirdos.”

X considered this, “He probably just wants the title.”  
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too.”

X opened the door to the classroom, and let Alia step inside before stepping in himself.  
Zero stared at them.

“Thanks for helping me calm down, X. Talk to you later, “ she said quickly and then sat near Palette and Layer like always.

The bell rang and Mr. Signas stepped inside the class, again with the daily routine of:

“Stand.”  
They stood.

“Bow.”  
They bowed.

“おはいようございます！”

”おはいようございました！”　The class echoed back.

“えと。。。ああ、そうだな。” He cleared his throat, “Today’s lesson is on-”

The loudspeaker interrupted him, squeaking and squealing before Principal’s Sigmas voice rang throughout the building. Everyone listened with their undivided attention. Well, not really, a few were writing something down or were on their phones.

“All teachers and students report to the auditorium for a mandatory assembly.”

The class groaned, and Signas sighed. “Tch… Alright. Everyone, stand up and walk down single-file. I would recommend no rough-housing, Principle Sigma already sounds upset about something, and I would advise not giving him a reason to take it out on you.” Obidentiantly the class stood up from their seats and down to the auditorium.

 

Alia and X were seated together, the students buzzed in their seats, whispering to each other as to what it could be that their principal wants to talk about.  
“Do you think he’s going to talk about what happened to the club?” Alia whispered  
“Probably. “ X whispered back. 

He could see Iris sitting near Zero from the corner of his eye, and sparks of jealousy flared up. He winced. 

“Whos that?” Lumines piercing gaze struck into X’s eyes when he turned around.  
“Who's who?” X asked.  
“That girl. With the brown hair.”  
“Oh! Uh, that’s Iris. She moved here a few weeks ago. “  
“Hm… she’s… “ his titled to the side. “...pretty.”

X and Alia stared dumbfounded at Lumine.  
“What?” Lumine gave them a dirty look.

They both turned away, Alia learned to Whisper, “that was really weird. I have never heard him say that about anybody... ever.”  
“That was odd wasn’t it…?”

“Ahem.” A deep voice alerted the students and all of the voices hushed at one. 

Principal Sigma stood at the stage. His bald head and broad shoulders and menacing gaze manipulated all of the hearts and minds of the students into stunned obedience. His aura was… terrifying. 

“Do any of you know why I called this assembly?”

a tremor of murmurs coasted through the crowd, a series of no’s.

“Last night the main science lab was defaced and destroyed, and most of the science equipment was destroyed. 100’s Of zenny worth, lost. “ his deep voice hoarse further and further with burning anger. Gasps and hushed whispers trembled through toy the crowd again. 

“He’s really angry…” X whispered Alia, nodded. 

“Science classes will still resume, and equipment will be replaced and cameras will be installed over break, but this will not stand. Whoever did this, I will find you, and you will be greatly punished,” he hissed. 

Silence. 

“Dismissed. “

You didn’t need to tell anyone in the crowd that twice. Quickly, they left, going back to their class.

 

Eventually, the lunch bell rang, X, smiled, and went over to Zero who seemed to be in a rush to get out of there. However, X wanted to snatch him up before anybody else could get the chance to.

“Hey Z!”  
“Hey.”  
“Crazy what happened, right?”  
“Yeah, real crazy,” he muttered as he gathered his stuff together.  
“I feel really”  
“Listen, X, I need to be somewhere right now.” He stood up, “I need to go. See you later.” He got up and left.  
“...” X was left stunned and silent.

“What was up with that?” X turned his head to Alia, the three girls were watching him and frowned at him as they bite into sandwiches.

“You know…” X glanced at the door, “I’m not really sure. “

Their voices whispered, and then Palette piped up with her big curled pigtails, “You want to eat with us today?!”  
“P-Palette!” Layer stuttered.

Axl would probably be waiting for him on the rooftops, but these days he’s too absorbed in his video games to pay attention to anything around him. He probably wouldn’t even notice if he was there or not.

“Sure.” he pulls up a seat.

“You know… Zero’s been acting weird ever since that Iris girl showed up…” Layer twirled around her long dark hair around her finger and sighed.  
“You’re right about that…” X agreed. “But… I think it’s good that they’re getting along.” He would like to think that anyway.

“Oh yeah…” Palette bit into her PB&J sandwich, “I heard about what happened. Totally messed up.”  
“I was there when it happened. He looked like a ghost for weeks after that…” Alia said.  
“You know what else is totally messed up? What happened to your club! Like, what the hell?! Who the hell does something like that and just destroys a bunch of stuff for no reason?!”  
“I wish I knew Palette…” Alia sighed, “What am I going to do now?”  
“You could drop that science club and join our club you know.” Palette took another bite.

“Oh, what club do you two go to?” X asked.  
“I used to be in metalworking until they shut it down. “ she pouted, “I’m still upset about that.”  
Layer chimed in, “We go to the home economics club.”  
“Oh? Really?”  
“Yeah I know, it’s kinda boring but some of the things are probably important to get good at. “  
“Not that you’ve gotten any better at cooking…”  
“Oh shut it Layer!”  
Alia giggled, “yeah, no thanks. Home Ec isn’t for me.”  
“I am so with you girl,” Palette drawled, “I would not be in that club if it weren’t for Layer, and she’s only in that club because she’s actually good at cooking and sewing.”  
Layer shrugged, “not wrong.”  
“But like, what other clubs are there even? Calligraphy? Flower-arrangement? Occult? No thanks! And I have to be in one or else my parents start whining about how I’m not “out of the house” enough.”  
“Oh by the way X, how come you’re not in a club?” Alia asked.  
“Well… I’ve never really been that interested in any.” that was true.  
“Jealous, wish my parents let me get away with that excuse.”

Layer suddenly drew in a deep breath and asked, “X, what does Zero think about me?”  
Alia and Palette drew silent.

“oh...Uh…” 

Zero’s words echoed in his mind, “She’s pretty but that’s about it.”  
He can’t say that! That’s just cruel!

“Well… he thinks you’re pretty.”  
“...”  
Silence. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that.  
“...is that it?”  
“...You don’t come up very… often…” That sounded lame even to him.

She sighed and banged her head against the desk. “He isn’t interested in me at all.”  
X gave her a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry…”  
“Don’t be… My fault for asking…”  
Alia and Palette spent the rest of the lunch period trying to cheer her up.

 

“I’m so FREAKING! Excited for summer like-”  
“Cut we already know you’re excited.” Ice snipped at him.

Today Rock was eating with his friends. To be honest, he was just as excited as Cut, but he wasn’t as loud about it as he was.

“By the way Roll, U-Um…” Ice flushed, “Our brothers-”  
“Are going to have a totally sweet camp-out in the woods once summer starts!”  
“All of your brothers?” Roll asks as Ice is grumbling under her breath.  
“Yeah! It’s going to be totally fetch.”  
“...Fetch?”  
Ice rolled his eyes, “Ignore him.”

“It’s going to be cool though! We’re going to have a cookout and make s'mores and sleep in a tent! What’s not to like? The best part- you’re invited.”  
“That sounds like fun. I’ll have to ask Dad first..” Rock said.  
Roll nodded and asked, “What’s a s'more?”  
“It’s these things people in America eat. Bomb found it when he was surfing Wikipedia. See, you get a fire, and you put a marshmallow on the end, you like, warm it up in the fire, and put it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate, and then you eat it.”

Roll’s face scrunched up, “That doesn’t sound that good…”  
“I mean, it could right?”  
“I guess I could try it but I can’t imagine that tasting any good.”

 

“What about you Rock?”

“Huh?” Rock was too busy thinking about Bass to pay attention to their debate if s'mores tasted good or not.  
“Before you can ask, yes you can invite him.”  
His face lit up, “Really?!”  
Roll’s expression soured, “Cuuuut!” She whined.  
Ignoring that, Rock stood up, “I’m going to talk to him real quick. I’ll be back!” and he ran off.

“What the heck Cut?!” Roll yelled in disbelief.  
“Wait, wait, wait, Roll, I and Ice were talking… and we were thinking…”  
“Thinking… what?”  
“Well, Bass doesn’t like being called gay right?”  
“....Uh huh…”  
“So, what if we got Rock to confess to Bass that he likes him? I mean, sure, Bass’s reaction would probably hurt him. But then he could get over his crush and realize how big of a wad he is!”

Roll considered this for a minute, “I suppose that makes sense… and if it does get him over it… Well, I guess I’m in.”  
“I don’t know guys…” Ice said hesitantly, “I’m starting to wonder if-”

Rock rushed in before Ice could finish what he was saying he agreed and looking happier than a clam.

Roll couldn’t fathom why someone like Bass made him so happy. It was going to be a recipe for disaster.

 

The day ended back with X getting his shoes out of his locker, he was supposed to walk with Axl and get him something to apologize for ditching him during lunch. X really did feel guilty for doing that, well after the fact.

As he grabbed the leather shoes, a pink envelope flitted to the floor. He looked at it curiously and picked it up.  
“The heck is that?!” Axl gawked at it  
“...I don’t know.” X opened it and read the letter inside. 

“...Huh. “  
“What is it?”  
“A note from Alia. It says to meet her by the gym storage room… wonder why.“

Axl gasped, “you don’t think it’s a-“  
“No… at least, I hope not…” he tucked the note into his pocket. Then handed Axl a 1,000 Zenny note.  
“Wha-“  
“I promise I’ll hang out with you later. “ X rushed off, while Axl yelled after him that he was “only kidding!”

 

X flipped the switch on and the lights flickered on. The gym storage room was a little room full of a cage with basketballs, mats stacked up against the window on the side, and various other gym equipment. The doors to the room were heavy and solid metal.

 

He wondered why Alia would want to meet here. After a moment the door swung out and Alia stepped in.

“Hey X!” She said and shut the door behind her.  
“Hey, Alia.”

They stared at each other for a moment, X cleared his throat through the awkward silence.  
“So what-”  
“Alia, what-”

They both laugh, and the awkward tension is broken.

“Go ahead,” she says.  
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” He asked.  
She frowned and looked at him, puzzled, “What I want to talk about? You’re the one who sent the note?”  
“Huh? No, you’re the one who sent the note. I have it right here-” he slipped her the envelope who looked at it with further puzzlement.  
“I didn’t send this. Must have been just a stupid prank.”  
X laughed, “must have.”  
“Let’s get out of here, you want to walk home?”  
X nodded, “That sounds fine.”

She pushed at the door and then pulled. Growing she pulled, harder. Worry flashing over her face, she pushed her shoulder into the door. Relenting, she looked at him with wide eyes, and said,  
“We’re locked in.”

He tried to open the door himself, Alia stepping aside, and got the same results, which is to say, none.

“...We are.” They glanced at each other with stunned expressions and got the same idea at the same time.

“HELP!” they pleaded as they banged on the door. This quickly became tiresome, and seemingly pointless. She slumped to the ground and looked up at X.

“Is there any clubs here today…?”  
He swallowed and shook his head. “No, the sports clubs practice here on rainy days but… The basketball club is the only one that stays in the gym and they don’t practice until after summer break…”  
“So there’s nobody to help us…”  
X nodded.

“Oh, that’s just… Wonderful. Whoever did this to us was a real peach. “

“You don’t think there’s any relation between this and what happened with your club, do you?”

She looked at him thoughtfully, “I hope not.” she finally said, “but you might have a point. My money’s on Lumine being the one.”  
“...Let’s not point fingers without any evidence. Let’s compare handwriting, does it look familiar to you?”

Alia’s note was a spare sheet of paper torn from a notebook that was folded in half. Comparing them side by side, the handwriting was similar, except X’s note had a few more hearts.

“You really thought that I wrote that?”  
Now that he thought about it, in the time that he has known Alia, not once did she ever write hearts on anything.  
He stuttered, “H-hindsight's 20/20.”

“Right well… Lumine’s handwriting doesn’t look anywhere like this, so it probably wasn’t him. But I still don’t trust him.”  
“Pointing fingers won’t get us out of here, “ he sighed.  
“How long are we going to be stuck in here?”  
“No clue…” 

Then, Alia snapped her fingers, “Duh! Why didn’t I think about that earlier?!”  
“Huh?”  
“Phone! We’re not living in the dark ages, we have cellular devices we could easily use!”  
“Oh… uhm, I dropped mine a while back in a… river and I still haven't got a replacement… hehe…”  
He could tell Alia didn’t buy it, but she dropped it, thankfully. “Well, I have mine right... “ she frowned as she dug through her bag, “er…”  
She looked back up.  
“...I left it in my locker…”

They both sighed.

“Just our luck…”

Minutes passed. X climbed onto the stack of mats and stared at the ceiling as Alia was considering what to do.

“Hey X?”  
“Hm?”  
“Who are you going to watch the fireworks with?  
Oh.  
“Ah… well, I wasn't really planning on asking anyone… I was probably just going to watch with Zero and Axl.”  
All of that was a big fat lie. He was going to ask Zero, if he had the chance, that is. 

“...in that case… Will you watch the fireworks with me?”

“O-oh w-well… Uhm… You’ll have to give me a minute w-with that one…”  
Alia nodded, “That’s fine. Wait, X?”  
“Hm?”  
“Can you open that window? I think it’s just big enough for us to slip through.”  
“I must be slow today. The window was right next to my face, but I didn’t even think about trying to open it.” X pushed at the window, with a bit of nudging, swung open.

They both looked at each other for a moment, X climbed out of the window and landed in the high vivid green grass behind the school.

“Eh? How’d you do that? I’m barely five feet up and I'm terrified of falling out!”  
Alia had followed him and was halfway out the window when she got cold feet. 

X outstretched his arms, “I’ll try to catch you. “

Try was the key word, as he underestimated her weight and collapsed to the ground once she wiggled her way out of the window.  
She snorted and chuckled with hearty laughter. X guessed the situation was amusing and went from cracking a smile to laughing with her. 

 

Golden hair turned the corner. 

“That must have been hard. But I am so proud of you, you did well. Things are going just as planned. You were right, did you see their smiling faces? You’re doing the right thing. They are going to be so happy.”

“...”

She cusped his cheek, “aren’t you happy my love?”  
“...it just takes time to get used to.”  
“Yes I suppose that’s right. After all, you still have your affections for him- don’t deny it.”  
“...I wasn’t.”  
“Good. You know I hate liars. But don’t worry, I’ll fix that. Then we’ll be happy too. Right Zero?”  
“Right.”  
Her hand dropped back down to her waist. 

“I think it’s about time we head home. “ she slipped her hand into his own and led him away from their laughter. 

He imagined it was X’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not only is this my longest fanfic, I'm starting to worry it's going to cap past 50,000 words and like;;; that's novel length...


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end waits for no man.

A few things had happened this week, to happen the way it did. But one thing was for sure, everybody was going to the fireworks festival. With a date.

X vowed to be the same way. However, finding time with Zero was harder and harder to come by, as he kept on making a different excuse to avoid X, at least, that's what it felt like. Even Axl had found a date with a girl named Cinnamon. Who wore a light blue bra under her shirt (which Axl had brought up, not him) and had cute little buns in her blonde hair. X wasn’t sure if Axl actually liked her, or if it was just because of the pressure of it being a social gathering where you are supposed to ask someone to go with you.

Although he suspected once Summer arrived, he wouldn't mention her again. He had such a short attention span...

“Ugh, I can’t find a date anywhere!” Palette whined.  
X was spending more time with the gossipy trio of girls at lunch. Spending time with Axl made him feel depressed, as it was starting to become a cold reminder of how Zero was nowhere to be seen. Axl didn’t seem to mind as long as he walked with him after school, which he did, these days with Alia as well. She had nothing to do still until the science club was back up…

People were pointing their fingers at anyone they could, except the members of the science club. It was a mystery still on who would do such a thing.  
The other members seemed to be holding up well. The other day he witnessed Dynamo brawling with that Dragoon guy, he looked happy enough he supposed. Gate was supposedly taking care of the cat that was supposedly pregnant with dogs, although X was starting to wonder if that was all some elaborate trick to mess with him. If it was, it worked.

Lumine on the other hand...

He was acting… strange. More so than he usually would be. Sometimes he would come up to them during lunch, and it was always about Iris. Iris this, Iris that, he was like a lovesick puppy-

Hold on, lovesick? Him? No way…

That can’t be it…

Although, his behavior was starting to creep Alia out as much as it was starting to creep him out. Palette and Layer didn't find it amusing either. The other day Palette told him to quote, "Fuck off." Yet the next day, he was back acting just as strange.

Probably because he doesn't have friends. Then again people like Lumine don't really care about friends, they're too wrapped up in their own heads. 

“Who are you going to go with X?”  
Oh, time to go back to reality.

“Huh?”

“I said, who are you going to go with?”  
He stuttered, “o-oh uh…”  
He thought about how Alia asked him, he was starting to seriously consider her suggestion, although he really was starting to feel guilty about why he was stalling. Perhaps, he thought, he should tell her the truth.

When the times right...

“...I’m not sure…”  
“Ughhhh…” Palette leaned back, her platinum blonde curls in twin tails following, “Where have all the good men gone?”  
“Guess we’re all going with each other again…” Layer lamented.  
“It isn’t fair! All the good guys are taken and the only ones left are all the creeps.”

“You have that right. Guess who asked me the other day?” Alia asked.  
“No way, who?”  
X listened intently, he was as intrigued as Palette and Layer.

“Vile.”  
Both girls gasped, “Who the hell does he think he is?! Why would he even think about asking you, the creep!” Palette fumed.  
“I know, I was stunned I didn’t even know how to react. I guess even creep’s like Vile get lonely.”  
“I guess but, man…”  
“Weird,” said Layer.

“I don’t know you could have held it together! If he asked me I would have laughed in his face!”  
“Oh man, that would have been hilarious. Though, I could only imagine his face... he’s always wearing that stupid motorcycle helmet.”  
Palette’s face scrunched up, “that thing must stink to high heaven.”  
“I bet he’s wearing it to hide his ugly face.” Layer snickered, and they all burst into laughter.  
“Too true!”  
“Why else would he be wearing it?!”

This was nice, listening to their conversations. X didn’t have much input on what they were talking about usually and that was fine with him. Talking about Vile brought up memories from middle school. From what he remembered, Vile was very handsome under his helmet. It was back in middle school, so who knows how much or little his face had changed, but he could admit that.  
Not out loud anyway.

Things were much more wholesome on Rock’s end. Well, more simple. They were only at the age of petty things like dating and the like were being taken more seriously. None of their friends ever seemed to concern themselves with it as much as Rock did though. Cut especially. Ice, on the other hand, he just wasn't talking.  
Rock was content to let sleeping dogs lie and never brought it up.  
During a lovely family meal, Rock had told Light he was invited to a campout with his friend Cut and his brothers at the beginning of summer vacation. Predictably, Light approved of it, statin his trust in them, for he knew his brothers well. X didn’t know all of their history, other than when the oldest brother, Guts, fell on hard times, he was there to help out.

“Blues, you should come with us!” Roll exclaimed.  
“Eh….” X could see the uncertainty in Blues’s face, “Are you sure about that…?”  
“Of course! Why wouldn’t we?” Rock asked.

“I don’t know… I think you guys should go on your own.”  
“Oh, pleeeease!”  
“Eh… Alright, I guess.” Blues reluctantly agreed.  
That made them happy, of course. Although Blues was far more keen on the idea once he learned that Bass was going to be there. Maybe X should say something to him before he put on the “protective brother act.” Perhaps it would do some good to talk to Blues before he does something that could wreck all of Rock’s hard work...

But Blues wouldn't do something like that, no, there isn't anything of the like he can do.

Later that evening, X was sitting at his desk, putting off studying and thinking to himself; when Rock came into his room with a pink face.

“Um, X, can I talk to you?”  
“Of course, what’s up?”  
“I uhm.. Well, I don’t know why, but Roll thinks I should um… Tell Bass… You know…”

Ah. How odd… He wonders why Roll would suddenly try to be supportive. He hopes she doesn’t have any ulterior motives.

“Well… I was just wondering... What do you think?”  
X hummed, “Well, I think that it couldn’t hurt… What do you think?”  
“I-I don’t know… Isn’t it too soon?”  
“Too soon? Well, when will it be the right time?”  
“I-I… I don’t know…” he flushed.  
“Tell him when you think the time is right, but just don’t make the mistake of waiting too long…”  
“But…” Rock sighed, “If I tell him too soon it will ruin our friendship and well…”  
“I understand.” X smiled, “I felt the same way about Zero.”  
“Really?!”  
“He was the one who had to confess to me.”  
“I-I thought you told him!”  
“Nope.”  
“H-huh… Then… Maybe I have a chance?”  
“There’s always a possibility. But tread carefully, if you don’t you may end up scaring him away.”  
“O-of course! Thanks for the advice X, I’ll tell him... eventually!”

He rushed out of the room, well, at least he was about to when he suddenly turned about and asked,

“Oh by the way, how come Zero doesn’t come over anymore? Roll has been asking about him.”  
“...Well… Sometimes…” His heart squeezed, painfully. He should be here, right? He should be here…  
Instead of voicing any of this though, like usual, he just smiled and said,

“Zero’s just been busy, that’s all.”  
“Well alright... “ Rock sighed, “U-uh I know I’m not as good as giving advice like y-you but… You know you can talk to me right? I-if somethings wrong.”

Oh.  
Still, X smiled, he felt bad about it, but he didn’t need to put any more on Rock’s plate as it was. “Thank you. But It’s fine Rock, these things just happen sometimes. It doesn’t mean things are wrong.” God if only that were true.  
“Well alright…”  
Rock turned and left.

X turned back to his desk, then he glanced at his Mega Rockman poster and considered taking down. Ultimately, he didn’t. He just sighed and turned back to his desk with the intent to pull a book off the built-in shelf and finally get to studying.

Wait, what was that in the window?

What he wasn’t expecting was to be met with a creepy grin and a pair of orange eyes, he nearly fell out of his seat, then wondered how the hell Lumine climbed up to the second floor. While he was wondering this, Lumine climbed his way through the window and fell to the floor with a thunk.

“J-Jesus!” X yelped and jumped up to his feet.  
“Ha! You cussed! You’re not so perfect after all!”  
“I-I never said I was-”  
“Whatever,” Lumine waved him off and dusted himself off. He was still wearing the school uniform, despite it getting darker and darker outside.

“W-what are you doing in my room?! How did you even-”  
“Please, X quit getting hung up on the small stuff,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m here to request your help.”  
“With…”

“You see, I thought I was above you simpletons. I do not concern myself with stupid matters like love or lust and the like…”  
X was growing even more confused where this was going, “Uh-huh…”

“That was until I laid my eyes on that Iris girl. I can’t get her out of my head. I am entranced, every minute of my waking days I think of her, I want to hold her in arms… I want to capture every single waking moment of her eternal beauty… I want to watch her as she sleeps… EVERY fiber of my body yearns for her! I can’t hardly stand it…”

 

“...” Now, X has seen a few weird things in his life. He’s seen a few things that he has never expected, but this? This was so far off the list of things X expects or has expected to see, that it isn’t even ON the list. 

Lumine gripped his shoulders, smiling, with a crazy look in his eyes, “What do you suppose I do?!”

“U-Um well for starters, calm down-”  
“CALM DOWN?! How can I calm down when I have a goddess in my presence like this?!”  
Oh my word, he was serious. Well, what Lumine considered to be serious anyway.

“E-er well, have you tried talking to her? Striking up a conversation-”  
“Hmph! Not with that blondie around… Getting in the way…” He grumbled, “Said I was stalking her! I was just trying to get a couple pictures!”  
“Lumine…” X couldn’t believe he had to explain this, “Girls find it creepy when you take pictures of them without asking.”  
“Really?”  
“...Yes.”  
“Huh. Why?”  
Was he really asking this?

“It’s an invasion of privacy.”  
“Huh. Then what should I-”  
“Don’t... do that. Maybe read a few books will do you some good…” X brushed him off of him and grabbed a couple of dusty old books. He’s had them for a few years, and he remembers the books being somewhat useful.

The titles were: “Understanding the opposite sex.” and “Girls and you.”

Lumine snatched the books from X's hand tucks it under his arm. He goes back over to the window and holds onto it as he sticks one leg out of the window with the intention to jump out.  
“Au revoir. You have shed some light on the elusive goddess. Perhaps you aren’t as brain-dead as I thought.”  
He did jump out, and once X stuck his head out of the window, Lumine was gone.

“...” What a weird guy. Was he trying to compliment him when he left? 

He was going to have to talk to Alia about this, wasn’t he?

“WHAT?!”  
X had to shush her, it was a free period, and X had taken the opportunity to pull her to the side and talk to her for a bit. They got a lot of strange glances and looks at her outburst. Palette and Layer frowned at them.  
Alia blushed, “Him and Iris?! Oh my god…” she whispered.  
“Yeah, I know. I’m still trying to process what happened…”  
“Geez… I’m going to talk to that creep before he scares her off. “ she sighed.

A swish of long blond hair distracted X, It was Zero, entering the class.  
“Sounds like a good idea Alia. “ Iris wasn’t there. Zero was his, all his. 

He leaped onto Zero like a cat leaped onto a owners keyboard, and spoke the words of fate,  
“Zero, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“...” he nodded after a moment. 

X pulled Zero out into the hallway. It was quiet, and the light from the outside streamed harshly into the halls. 

Zero stared at him.  
“I-I just wanted to ask you… Uh…” he wrung his hands together, why was he so nervous?! He shouldn’t be nervous asking his own boyfriend to watch a fireworks show with him. In fact, he shouldn't even have to ask! It should just, be one of those unspoken things, right? That you go to watch the fireworks with your boyfriend.  
‘You’re worried he’s going to say no,’ a thought slithered his wahy into his brain, X shook it off and bit the bullet. 

“W-will you go to the fireworks show with me?”  
“...” Zero’s eyes were cold. His voice was as chilly as ice when he said, “I’m sorry. I’m already going with Iris.”  
X gulped and shivered, he had never heard his voice so cold. Where was that genuineness he heard in his voice before now? What happened to change how he was genuinely sorry? Did he just...

“Oh…”  
“Sorry,” Zero said again.  
“We… We’re going to hang out over um… Summer break right…?” X asked with a tad bit of desperation.  
Zero nodded after a moment, and silently went back inside the class.

“...”

X turned and walked down the hall, traveling to the boy's bathroom. He locked himself in the clean white stall and sat down, sighing.

He felt tears form and start to trickle down his cheeks.

No, no… He wipes away the tears, don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry… He sucked them back in with a deep breath.  
You’re stronger than this. Come on, you know what to do. Don’t cry don’t cry…  
But do you really? 

Maybe he should talk to him- no, no, no, no... Don't be selfish. Zero's just spending time with his friend...

'At the expense of his own boyfriend.'  
Oh shut up, it's not the end of the world to watch the fireworks with someone other than him...

X sat in the stall for a long time, trying to get himself under control. Eventually, he left the stall, splashed some water on his face, and went back to class. Like nothing ever happened.

Later that same day, when school had long since been out and when Alia and he walked home, without the included presence of Axl, he said:

“I’ve thought about it and… Yeah, I’ll watch the fireworks with you. Sorry it took me so long to respond back…”  
“It’s cool! Yeah, finally I got someone to go with. I was worried I was going to be stuck with those dorks.” She said playfully.  
X smiled and chuckled.  
“Although… Are you alright?”  
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

Her head tilted to the side, I don't know. You look kind of tired.”  
“Oh…”  
She frowned, “Forget I said anything. I didn’t mean to upset you…”  
“N-no It’s fine Alia, you were just trying to show your concern…”

“Well… Just know you always have someone to talk too. You have always been so worried about everybody else, you never take the time to worry about your own damn self sometimes.”

“...Ah… Well…” he didn't really know what to say to that.  
“It’s okay to be selfish sometimes you know?”  
“Yes… I know…” He lied.  
“Do you really?”  
“...I thought so.”

Alia sighed, “Just a thought X. Just a thought.”

The final day before summer finally came. The energy was high with the students, excitement running so high it was impossible to be brought down, even by the excessive amounts of homework assigned by Signas-sensei.

“Listen.” He said firmly, “I know all of you want to run off into the sunset and go to the beach and relax but your studies are still important. You can relax once you graduate and get into a nice college, but until then; nothing you do over break is more important.”

Of course, none of them actually paid any attention to this. They all were dreaming of playing suikawari on the beach and spending time with friends. Of course, they would do homework, well, most of them. That wasn’t their priority in the slightest for most of them.

Things were about the same at the middle school. Lectured on how important it was to get good grades and focus on schoolwork, so you can attend a good high school, and then attend a nice college. It was nearing the end of the day now and they were all cleaning the classroom, and bringing out their books and kanji workbooks (mastery of middle-school level kanji guaranteed!) so they could take them home. There were zero-tolerance when it came to leaving things at school over break.

Cut groaned, “God my bag is so heavyyy!”  
“That’s why they tell you to bring a little bit home everyday Cut! It’s your own dang fault.” Roll chided him.  
“Aw, but come on! All that crap is so heavy…”  
“Wouldn’t be so heavy if you just did what they said…”  
“Shut it Ice!”  
“Cut it out both of you!” Roll interjected.

Cut snickered.  
“They do have a point Cut…”  
“Not you too Rock! Come on I thought we were friends! You guys are so mean!”  
Roll rolled her eyes, "Quit acting like a big baby!" she teased and elbowed him. Ice quietly huffed as they both laughed.

Bass slid the door to the side and stepped inside, this caught Rock’s attention and prompted him to bounce over to him, and give a greeting:  
“Hey Bass!”  
“Oh, hey.”

“Nice for you to finally pitch in…” Roll grumbled under her breath. 

Rock smiled as he talked to him, “Yeah… But still! Can’t let him get you down, there’s still a lot of things to look forward to! You know like, the campout? I forgot to tell you, Cut’s brother found these things called s’mores and we’re going to try and make them-”

“It really pisses me off!” She hissed.  
Cut and Ice gapsed,  
“Roll said piss!”  
“Oh my god, Roll said piss!”  
“Oh grow up, will you? What is it that Rock sees in him? I just can’t stand it!”  
“Well, if we can get him to confess as *I* saaaaaiiiid, we’ll be able to get him over Bass in a snap, remember?”  
“...I guess…” Roll sighed.  
“Uhm… Guys, I don’t know if that’s really a good idea-”  
”よし！Let's get back to cleaning."

It was Ice's turn to sigh.

The fireworks festival was here. It was late into the evening by now. With the sun slowly setting, and a blanket of stars bursting forth from the deceased sun, a huge bonfire was lit in the middle, as it cast striking shadows on the teenagers in the crowd. Milling around and the sort and laughing as they bought food from stalls. 

Most years, the fireworks festival profits were run by clubs to raise funds, however this year all but one were run by the school to raise money to buy more science equipment.

The one was run by a dead-eyed barely pre-teenage girl who emotionally said,  
“Thank you for your purchase.”  
Every time someone bought some candy.

X and Alia were having a good time, they talked, laughed, and occasionally met up with Layer and Palette. But all in all, having a good time.

X bit into his choclate covered banana and chewed. The acidic and sweet, firm, banana contrasted well with the smooth and bitter taste of dark chocolate coating that encased it.

Alia popped into her mouth, the artifial tastes of fruit that spred throughout her mouth as she chewed into the gummies.

It was suddenly announced,  
“The fireworks will be starting soon!”

X watched as Zero's blond hair, led by a brunette, and highlighted by the fire, passed in front of his eyes. Searching for a good place to watch the fireworks, probably. He sighed.

'Don’t cry.' He told himself.

“Hey, X?”  
“Hm? 何アリアーちゃんか。”  
"Um… Before the fireworks start there’s something I need to tell you…”

“Well you know, since Alia likes X, and Layer likes Z-”

X was painfully reminded of Axl’s words. He pleaded, with some form of god- Maybe Sarutahiko Otami, a shinto god representing the Earth even. Oh please Sarutahiko Otami, the god of the earth, please...

Please, just don’t let this be what this is leading to.

“I-I really like you, X… More than…” her face turned as pink as her ribbon as she forced her words out, “...Just a friend.”

Silence passed between them.

“...I’m sorry. I…” X chose his next words very carefully, “...I really do like you Alia. Really, I love your company, and I’ve known you forever but…” X sucked in a breath, “I don’t like you in that way.”

“I understand… I knew it... I knew you weren't interested..." He saw the sadness in her eyes, as she sighed.  
“Then…” Tears welled up in her eyes, and her face morphed into confusion, “Then why would Zero tell me that… that you liked me?!”

X swallowed, and his eyes widened, he felt a sick feeling creep into his stomach, “Z-zero said that?!”

“Yes, he-”  
“I have to go!” He sped off, the sick feeling grew stronger and stronger quickly, X starting to feel ill and stomach disagreeing with the chocolate banana. Alia yelled after him,  
“Wait, X, come back!”

No, no, this can’t be happening. Zero couldn't, he WOULDN'T. He needs to say something, anything before it’s too late. The crowd mixed around him, lights and darkness, and voices and chatter. X ran past and shoved past people, cheers and voices and chatter grew louder and louder. The fireworks boomed up above, X didn’t even avert his eyes up.

He saw Zero’s silky mane, and then, the figure of Iris, and her caramel-colored hair and her virescent eyes lean closer and closer to Zero.  
Oh no.  
Before he could call out their names. Before X could interrupt. Before he could have done anything to stop it-

She kissed him

Zero didn’t pull away.

He was too late.

X felt his heart crack.  
Then shatter into pieces.  
Then he felt the hot tears trickle down his cheeks.

Zero pulled looked away to the sky, and the burst of colorful light of the fireworks.  
Iris caught X’s gaze.

She smiled.

X's body led him far far away from the chitter-chatter and her and him's and the booming bursts of color.

His heart sunk like a weight deep into his stomach, and slowly he stopped running.

He looked down to his shaking hands, slowly sinking to his knees. He could feel his whole body shake, and he felt even sicker than before, he leaned forward and-

'Don't cry.'

Sobbed into his hands. The tears he couldn't stop. They rushed forward like a river stream and felt hot against the cool night air and his cheeks and hands.

Goddammit, goddammit, GODDAMMIT.  
Why??! Why??! WHY??!?

な‐なんで何で？？！？？！？

He was right, he was so so right, why was he so fucking stupid?!?! HE KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN and yet, and yet, and yet, HE WAS STUPID TO THINK THEY WERE STILL JUST FRIENDS?! HE KNEW ZERO WAS ACTING STANGE, AND YET...

And yet...

He still acted like a fucking idiot.

it's his own fault this happened.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and something rub his back as his sobs racked through his body and poured seemingly endlessly from his face and into his hands and on the ground.

"It's okay X... Calm down..."  
"We're here for you okay?"

He cried, and cried, and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything hurts ouch ouch ouch ouch i was going to wait longer than 2 FUCKING DAYS to post this but it hurts too bad ow ow owwwwwww ;-;-;-;-;


	12. Making s'mores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock and the gang discover the wonderful taste of s'mores and X reads a book.

Summer began with X crying.

Boy did he cry, he cried at night, he cried when the door was closed, he cried when his door was open, and one time, when Roll was serving curry and rice for dinner. He took one look at the plate and tears trickled down his cheeks.

“E-X?!”  
“I-I’m fine Roll…” He sniffed and took another bite of his rice.

All the members of the Light family looked at each other.

It was a mystery to what he was crying about. He’d not once stepped outside the house, has refused to, and won’t even tell them what he’s been crying about.  
Light has tried to talk to him, and so has Rock, Roll… Even Blues tried. But it didn’t take much time for him to give up. He came out of his room, with a frown, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Nothing.”  
“Daaaad…” Roll whined and gave Light a pleading look.  
“I’m afraid we can’t do much for him until he tells what’s wrong..” he sighed, “All we can do now is give him some time and space.”

 

As Light said this, X felt like his heart had been stolen from him, it ached and felt sore to the touch, as if a knife was shoved through. 

The humid air allowed for trickles of sweat down the back of his neck, his backside. The window was cracked open, and a fan was laying, and he was doing nothing but lying on the hardwood floor, with a book resting on his chest and he was still burning up. He was even wearing shorts short enough to be called booty shorts and a white cotton tank-top, and he was still hot.

Hot…

When he closed his eyes the scene replayed over and over. And over.  
And over…

When his eyes were open all he thought of was her green eyes and her smile.  
That really got him.

It’s been about a week since then. Rock n’ Roll and Blues are supposed to leave to the campout today. They’ve offered to take him several times, and each time, X had turned it down. For it wouldn’t distract him from memories of him...

And his cold voice. Was he planning this from the start? Or was it all just pure coincidence that he saw?

A lump formed in his throat, he swallowed it down. He tried to pick his book back up-  
“Fearless” the book cover read, but his heavy heart was far too distracting.  
“...”  
He could feel the tears coming.

Thump!

“Hm?” He slightly raised his head. He heard a noise.  
Lumine leaned over and stared him right in the eye.

“Ah! L-lumine!”  
“How observant of you.” He said casually as if him looming over him in X’s own room was the new normal.  
“W-what are you doing here?!”  
“I read those stupid books of yours.” He drops them to the floor. “What next?”

“...” X sighed and rolled to his side, “Listen Lumine, I’m not really in the mood-”  
“I thought you would want your boyfriend back since apparently, that fucking man-whore has his grubby mitts on MY Iris!” he groaned in agony.

“...”  
“Are you crying?” He scoffed, “Wuss.”

He was crying again. X wiped them away and sighed.

“Pah-thetic. Listen, I want the girl, you want Zero. We have a common goal here, help me out.”  
“...How do you even know-”  
“Oh please, the way you make googly eyes at him, it is so obvious, even I wonder how those simpletons don’t figure it out.”  
“...”  
“Come on!”  
“...”

Lumine huffed, "Fine. If you aren't going to be any help, I'll figure it out myself."  
"Lumin-"  
"Selamat tinggal." He cut X off and jumped out of the window he came in from.

"Lumine?! What the hell are you doing around here?!"

Alia. She had been coming over a lot in attempts to get him to tell what was wrong. If X could spare the effort he would have said not to bother. He didn't feel like talking it today either...

The wound was too fresh.

Hours later, X was in the same spot. Still reading the same book.  
Still staring up at the ceiling. Still thinking about it, over and over and over.

4:00 now.

What was Zero doing now? Was he happy?  
If he’s happy with her… Then… Maybe he could get over it. 

There was a knock on his door, Rock opened it and peered inside.  
“Hey, I’m leaving.”  
“...Okay.”  
“Will you be alright?”  
“...yeah.”  
“Well… Okay. But I-I’m kinda worried about you X, Roll and Blues are as well. Dad too. "  
“...I just need time." he echoed Light's words, "Have fun with Bass. Talk to me when you get back.”  
Rock nodded and shut the door with a click.

 

Rock was worried about him but wanted to do as he said and have fun with Bass. But he still felt... Worried. What could it possibly that was upsetting him so much? And where was Zero?!?! Where was he when all of this was happening?!  
Something was wrong… But what?

Well, whatever it was, he could dwell on it if he ever told him. But right now he-

“ROCK! ROLL!” Cut yelled and waved at them. They already set up camp in the dark woods, where the leaves were so thick yo where you couldn’t see the city lights at all. Now Rock was thinking about it, Bass was probably weel equipped through here himself. Disappointing though, he was hoping to talk to Zero about X.

“Who’s that guy?!” Cut asked.  
“It’s Blues, Cut!” Roll looked at him in frustration, you know who Blues is!”  
Blues raised a hand, “hey.”  
“Ohhhhh… Yeah, THAT guy. Where have you been?”  
“Around.”  
“Heh, cool.” For whatever reason Cut accepted that answer and moved on.

“You wanna like, walk around or whatever until there’s something to do? Fire’s still making the fire, and everybody else is booooring.”

“Actually, you guys go on ahead. I’m going to talk to some of them. I haven't seen some of them in a long while.”

Cut shrugged, “You go right ahead. Oi, Ice! Wanna walk with us?!”  
“Hai, hai!” he yelled and ran to join them.  
They walked and eventually disappeared into the depths of the woods.

 

“Hey, Rock! Long-time no see!” A strong and loud voice called out to him.  
“Hey, Bomb!”

Bomb was around 17, and the third oldest. When he was younger he was made fun of for being pudgy around the middle. Then once his teenage years hit, he was obsessed with working out, and became skinny and buff around the arms. Nowadays his interests lie elsewhere, but his physique was about the same if he was just noticeably a little more chubby than before. Still, he was a strong guy for sure. His hair was styled in a bright orange mohawk with yellow stripes. Rock didn’t know too much about Bomb but he did now that; he liked to wear muscle shirts during the summertime. He really liked action flicks because of all the explosions. Explosions were this guy's bread and butter, you would have to know nothing about Bomb to be surprised he wanted to go into pyrotechnics.  
Summer was also his favorite season. Because:  
“Fighting, fireworks, festivals, that’s where it's at!”

Summer may not have much to do with fighting, but it did have fireworks and festivals. In fact, they were supposed to be going to a local festival next week. 

His imagination drifted a bit to Bass and him holding hands while walking around the bright lights and busy stalls of the festival, and he blushed. He should really stop drifting off like this. He knows something like that could never happen. If only he was born a girl, then he probably wouldn’t be facing this problem.  
...But then again he really doesn’t want to be a-

“Uh, earth to Rock?”  
Rock blinked and was snapped back into reality. He blushed even further.  
“O-Oh sorry! I drifted off there…” he rubbed the back of his head.  
“Yeah, I saw that.” Bomb sniggered.  
“Well uh…” Rock cleared his throat and made quick work to change the subject. 

“What are you doing?”  
“Eh, Not much of anything right now. Kinda bored. I wish my cell had data.”  
Rock could hear Elec scoff, but ultimately do or say nothing.

“What’s the rest of your brothers doing?”  
“Guts is out gathering wood or whatever. Fire’s going to start the fire soon.” He snickered, “Fire’s going to start the fire. Haha.”  
Rock chuckled a bit as well.

Fire was sitting in an outdoor chair, basically waiting for something to happen. From the looks of it, they’ve already made themselves a firepit, stacking rocks on top of each other and placing a metal grate over it for a grill. The only thing missing was the fire. Elec was sitting at the picnic table they were and listening to them talk. The table was frayed and old, sitting on one side of it made it tilt over, and there were various names carved into it. 

“Cut said you found s'mores online.”  
“Sound good right?” he grinned. “Americans are always eating the most unhealthy crap, but they are creative with their food. Have you seen pictures online of what some of their cakes and cupcakes look like?”

Rock shook his head. “I haven’t.”

“They’re so damn colorful, and they like, do sh-crap with the icing to create like, mickey’s mouse face or whatever. The colors are so bright the thing looks like an alien threw up on it more than food to eat.”  
“Eh? Seriously?!”  
“Seriously.”  
“Weird.”  
“I-“

“GOT WOOD!” A thunderous voice made the birds skitter and scatter and flutter away in the trees above.  
Guts came into view with a large pile of kindle in his arms.

Guts was a strong, tall, beefy guy. He worked as a construction worker, and was darky tanned from the sun, and very much had muscles. Big biceps and arms but not so much in the legs. Guts had a very strong and powerful voice that was excellent for one of his favorite, pastimes, karaoke. He also had a very sharp and carved jawline that was exaggerated by his stubble and dark eyes.

“Finally! Let’s get this thing started already!” Fire yelled in his thickest southern accent and got up from his seat. In just a few moments of stacking together kindle and crowding around loose pieces of paper and ribbed up cardboard boxes, they had a fire.

“Don’t crazy like last year, alright?” Guts deadpanned.  
“Of course not! I learned my lesson.” Fire drawled.  
“You said that last year…”

“This is stupid.” Elec huffed.  
“Eh? Why do you say that?”  
“Why are we making hamburgers and hotdogs like we’re American? What happened to grilled mackerel and meat?”  
“...Isn’t hamburger just grilled meat?”  
“...” Elec didn’t respond to that.  
“I hear you over there Elec! If you don’t shut your chops you ain’t getting none of this!” Fire yelled.  
“Yeah, yeah what-ever cowboy.” Elec rolled his eyes at him.

Soon enough there was the sizzling and wafting smell of meat, Rock got up from his seat.

“I’m going to go catch up with Cut and you know, the rest of them.”

“What, this not enough party for ya?” Bomb grinned.  
“Nah, just wondering what they’re up to.”  
“Well alright, don’t get lost now. This forest is cuuurseeed!” Bomb wiggled his fingers and made ghost noises. Elec sighed.  
“I’ll let you know if I see any ghosts then.” Then, Rock was off.

 

Rock wandered far into the woods, searching for any signs of the group. The woods were silent besides the constant chirps of cicadas, he tried to listen for any signs of his group of friends but, there was nothing.

Until he heard the crunching of leaves behind him.

Rock turned and was met with a familiar pair of ruby eyes that he admittedly dreamt of a few times. Just think about that thought made him blush.

“Oh, hey Bass!” He waved at him.  
“Jesus, there you are I’ve been looking for you for what feels like forever.”  
“I-I’m sorry, I should’ ve-”  
“Shut up stupid head. Quit apologizing for everything you’re starting to piss me off.”  
“...Sorry.”

Bass flicked his forehead. It actually hurt a bit, as he put all the pressure into his nail.  
“Ow! H-Hey, I can do that back!”  
“No you won’t, you’re too pussy.”  
Rock flicked his cheek.  
“Oi!” Bass grabbed his wrists. “I’ll kick your ass!”  
“I’ll kick yours back!”

Rock playfully kicked one leg up, Bass leaned back to avoid it out of habit, lost his balance, and dragged Rock down with him with a loud thunk.

“Ow!” Bass hissed, squeezing his eyes shut, and held his head with his palm.  
“Are you okay?”  
Their eyes met.  
They realized the position they were in.

Rock’s heartbeat went through the roof and his face grew redder than red. He was quick to get up and apologize profusely, bowing with his face still redder than red.

“Sorry! I’m really-”  
“If you don’t shut up I’m really going to beat you up, and I mean it.”  
“...Sorry.”  
“Shuuuuut it.” He flicked his forehead again, “I forgive ya. You happy now?”  
Rock nodded.  
“Thaaaank you. Now, where is the food? I am s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g.” Bass correctly spelled out.  
“Er… “ Which way did he come from? Rock looked around him and came to the realization he had just gotten lost.  
This didn’t seem to concern Bass much, he rolled his eyes, “You dope. Come on then, we better get to looking then.”

Rock followed behind him, as they traversed across the uneven terrain, stepping over forest roots, and through tall grass and occasionally getting hit in the face with branches.  
“Ow!”  
Maybe that was just Rock though.

“What is it now?” Bass looked back at him.  
“Hit myself with a tree branch… hehe.”  
“Dork.”

Oh, he suddenly had a thought. Maybe Bass knew something about X’s situation, after all, Zero certainly did. I mean, why wouldn’t he?

“Hey, Bass?”  
“What?” He didn’t turn around.  
“...X has been upset about something the past week but he won’t tell anyone what it is.”  
“Uh-huh…”  
“Have you heard Zero mention it any?”  
“...I haven’t. I don’t give a shit about whatever drama he’s been going through, and he’s never said dick about it. “ He stopped.  
“It is weird though… If his precious boyfriend is upset about something, why isn’t he with him?”  
“I don’t know,” Rock said.  
“Maybe he’s too busy hanging with this girl I keep seeing around.”

That caught Rock’s attention, big time.  
“A girl?”  
“Yeah. Don’t know her name, think it starts with an I…?” he crossed his arms.  
“... that sounds familiar… What does she look like?”  
“Brown hair, green eyes, pretty, if you’re into that I guess.”

“Is her name Iris? X told me about her, Zero used to date her.”  
“Zero had a girlfriend? Shit….” Bass scowled, “That explains a lot now. He was a moody little bitch for a while. Must be after they broke up or something…”

Rock had a sudden thought. It was as sudden as a train running over someone on the tracks.

“You don’t think he-”  
“What?” Bass snapped.

“He broke up with X, to be with Iris?”

Really Rock didn’t view that as a viable answer in his head but saying it out loud it made more sense than it had any right to. He saw Bass’s eyes go blank. Then he tilted his head to the side, then to the other. Clenching, then unclenching his jaw. Then; something flickered in his eyes.

“Oh shit, you’re right. That son of a fucking blondie, if he did he’s a total piece of shit.”  
“E-eh?!”  
“Well isn’t it? Jesus Christ, if that’s true your brother shouldn’t even fucking bother being all moody about it. That’s something a piece of shit would do. Swear to god I’m going to kill him if it’s true.”

Rock wasn’t at all expecting him to get so heated over it. But he rather had a point. That was messed up.  
That is to say if true. It is off the wall, but… Rock couldn’t think of just about anything else would make him as depressed. 

Oh my god, what if he was crying over the curry because- 

“Shh. You hear that?”  
“What?”  
Rock carefully listened. He could hear voices very far away, they echoed and bounced around the trees.

Bass walked up to a tree at seemingly random and peered behind it.  
Roll was standing there.

“Huh? Roll what are-”  
“Rock, shush! We’re playing hide-and-seek! Keep quiet and keep out of the way.”  
“Do you know where food is?”  
Roll tch’d, and looked annoyed as soon as Bass opened his mouth, “that way.” she pointed.

“Thanks.” he headed that direction.

“Roll…”  
“What?”  
“I’m getting really tired of this. I know you don’t like Bass, but you could be… I don’t know, nicer?”  
“I’m as being as nice as I can to him.” She fumed.  
“...I doubt that. And another thing," This was starting to bother him, "why are you only now deciding to be support-”  
“You and X wanted me to be nice, and now you complain!”  
“Because- it’s too sudden! It doesn’t feel…” Rock searches for the word, “Real.”

He regrets saying that after seeing her face.  
“E-er wait I, didn’t-”  
“Because everything I do is mean right?”  
“Sis I didn’t-”  
“I don’t want to hear it.” she put her hand up, “Just go.”

When Rock caught up with Bass, he didn’t ask what they were talking about, thankfully.

The rest of the evening was nice, the food was good and Rock couldn’t help but find it amusing how Elec took multiple hotdogs to eat. The only thing that Rock regretted is the fact Roll kept giving him the cold shoulder all evening.  
Perhaps he should not have said the things he did, but Roll had to give him at least the fact that she was acting at least a bit suspicious. I mean… He thought so. But he was maybe a bit harsh…

Fire bust out a bag of marshmallows and Guts set out the chocolate and graham crackers.

“How are you suppose’ to make this again?”  
“You’re supposed to toast the marshmallow ‘till it’s gooey, but not burnt.”

“Well shit.”  
Cut stared at his marshmallow that was on fire and blew it out. Guts slapped the back of his head.  
“Ow! What was that for?!”  
“No swearing.” Guts reprimanded.

Bass stared at his marshmallow and gingerly held it over the fire that was probably a tad too large and a tad too high. The smoke clung to their clothing, and the heat of the fire burnt into their skin. 

“Ack!” Rock’s caught onto fire next. “Does that mean I need to start over?”  
“Nah, apparently some people eat it like that. “ Bomb said while staring intently at his marshmallow.  
Everybody except for Ice was crowded around the campfire.  
(“It’s too hot!”)  
(“You say that about everything…”)  
Rick stared at the burnt piece of charcoal on the stick.  
“Uh…”

“I’m trying mines first!” Cut proclaimed, despite the burnt bits poking out of the sandwich creation. Rock watched as he stuffed the thing into his mouth, and his eyes widened.

“Holy matrimony! This is freaking delicious!” Cut stuffed the whole thing into his mouth and licked his fingers.  
“Eh? Seriously?” Roll looked skeptical.  
“Yeah, seriously! Rock, you gotta get in this action!”  
Rock put his together and took a bite.

Woah.

“This is good!” 

Rock could see Bass as he stuffed his into his mouth and licked off his fingers. 

Bomb leaned near where Rock was and whispered, “Hey, no judge, but how come you invited that weird guy?”  
“He’s my friend.”  
“Hm… Wasn’t he that gut that kept beating you up?”  
“Yeah but-”  
“Alright! Who’s wanting to tell a good story while we still got some time?”

It was getting late, the sun was going to be setting soon. And darkness was spreading throughout.

“Me!” Cut raised his hand. “I wanna make Icey pee his pants like last year!”  
“Shut up Cut, you did not! That was water! Wa-ter.”

“Hey guys, where’s Blues?” Roll asked.

“...Uhhh…” Said Guts.  
“Uhhh…” Fire echoed.  
“Uhhhh…” Bomb groaned blankly.

“...” Elec was silent and dropped the marshmallow he was holding.

“Fuck.” Cut got another slap in the back of the head.

 

The sun had set. The fire smoldered and the only forms of light were the flashes of the phones through the trees.  
Gut’s sighed. “I think it’s time we split up for the night. Sorry guys…”  
Roll sighed, “Just when we had him back too…”  
“I know…”  
“Maybe we were wrong to try to get him to go with us… Maybe it stressed him out too much?”

Bass scoffed, “Wouldn’t it be the opposite? You were just trying to include the guy.”  
Roll growled, “You have no right-”  
“R-roll please…”  
“...” she gave Rock a dirty look and shut up.

Guts sighed, “Man, I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Light…”  
“Don't worry about it Guts. I’m sure Dad’ll understand…”

Guts drove the trio home, Bass insisted on getting himself home, and Rock didn’t want to push it by inviting him to their place when Roll was both heartbroken and kinda mad at him. He was hurt as well, but an awful part of him whispered how he knew this would happen.

"Don't blame yourselves. I'm sure it wasn't anything you did." Dad said. "He came back once... Maybe he'll come back again..."

*Sigh.*

The only good news was that Dad was still going to let them go to the festival next week. 

"Are you sure? Because of m-"  
"Guts, it wasn't your fault. These things... happen."

Once the door shut, he could see Dad's brokenhearted face.

 

Saturday. 7 days from now.  
It wouldn’t be the same without Blues… 

 

Just as suddenly as he appeared, he disappeared.

 

Rock stared up at his ceiling and closed his eyes.

 

Zero stared up at his blank white ceiling. He admired the stains left by squashed-up bugs and a yellowed mildew stain from who knows what.

He was supposed to meet Iris at the trains station tomorrow and go on, well, he guessed a date.  
He was going to have to dress halfway decent, and get up early, and wait for her to show up to be in some clothes way nicer than his, and wait for her to say:

“Sorry, I’m late!”

And for him to say back, 

“No problem, I just got here.”

When in reality he had been waiting for over 30 minutes. Then they would stop every 5 minutes so she could look at something, and he would feel guilty because he couldn’t follow the script and buy her shit like a good boyfriend…

Man, did having a girlfriend always suck so hard?

‘Oh look at you, all upset because you made your bed that you lay in. You selfish piece of shit. X-’

Shut up, shut the absolute fuck up about X before I punch you in your gay-ass face you injured piece of shit.  
'Fuck you.'

Bass suddenly burst into the room, “ZERO, WHAT THE FUCK?!”  
“What the hell do you want?” Zero asked with a face that registered he saw Bass the same as someone would view dog shit on their shoe.

“...” Bass paused and made a face, “Fuck, what did I come in here for?”

Zero snorted.

“Shut the hell up.”

“If you remember don’t-”

“Oh yeah, what the FUCK does it mean when your heart starts beating really fast when you see someone and you can’t stop thinking about them? Wait that wasn’t it…” he muttered the last bit.

“...You watch TV you fucking know what it is. It’s probably a crush.” Zero said after a moment.

“...” Bass’s face paled whiter than a ghost and he left the room…  
...Only to come back after a few moments, like a life-changing moment had not just occurred.

“Oh yeah, now I remember, fuck you!”  
“Wha-”  
“Did you dump that guy for your ex-girlfriend?! That’s fucked up!”  
“What? Where did you get that idea from? My-”  
“That just confirms it! You should feel like the world largest-”  
“Yeah, yeah. 死ねよ。” Zero waved him off.  
”死ね！！！” Bass yelled as he left, flipping him off.

Treble barked elsewhere in the trailer, Wily yelled at him,  
“Shut up you stupid dog!”  
“Leave Treble alone you old fart!”  
“The hell you just say to me?! You ungrateful brat-”

Zero tuned them out as he stared at the ceiling. Just another day in the Wily trailer.

He did not dump X, that did not happen. 

‘Are you sure about that?’

Yeah, I am, Alia should be trying to get closer with X as Iris said, and everything should fall into place. I just need to stay out of the way…

‘I miss him.’

Shut the fuck up before I strangle you.

‘You sound like Bass.’

I am going to kill you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is starting to draw near.  
> Recently I've also begun to feel self-conscious. Is this too weird? Too strange? Too wrapped up in my own head to coem up for air? Not written well enough? Plots not developed enough (yes) I'm trying so hard but i hon e stly don't know if i deserve all the support.


	13. Zero is stupid.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero and Iris go on a date.

Zero has no idea how things got to this point. He has no clue how he ended up telling any of the things he did to Iris.

It started so innocently. Her bright eyes stared into his soul, and then with a voice sweeter than honey asked,  
“What’s wrong Zero?”

He doesn’t know why he said any of the things he did. Maybe if he thought about it he wouldn’t have but he did and he can’t take it back. He tried to dance around it a little and not give names but then she said...

“It’s him right? X?”  
Zero swallowed, harshly, “... How did you-”

“Lucky guess. Plus, I saw you laying his head on his lap. You weren’t quick enough.”  
He stayed silent.  
“I am going," she sighed, "to be honest with you Zero…”  
“...” He was listening.  
“I’m still in love with you.”

He was not expecting that, not at all, on his list of “things Zero expects” that would be number #1092929920.  
“What? Why?”

“Reasons are too complicated to describe, Zero. I know you don’t have that high of an opinion of yourself but you’re just as sweet and kind as anyone else. Very handsome as well, but that’s just a bonus.”

“...Iris-”  
“You want him to be happy right?”  
“Of course.”  
“You think he would happier with Alia do you?”  
“...In the long run.” he muttered.  
“Yes… Then…” She grabbed his hands and looked earnestly into his eyes.  
“Be with me.”  
“That’s…” he swallowed and frowned  
“I understand what you must be thinking but everything you have said is right. You are a much kinder and better person you think you are, but you and X come from… Well, in different places. You will always be judged by people who don’t even know you. X may say he doesn’t care, but you and I both know that it will still sting. He will never be fully happy. There will always be people like Vile out to get him."

“...” Zero has thought about this many many times. That was true, they did come from different places. He couldn’t afford anything that X could have. He got an allowance every week. He never had to work. Zero did. He put his dignity and pride on the line, and worked in a cross dressing cafe in a place where he could have easily been discovered because it paid a little more than the average waitressing job.

 

“Besides that, you and I both know how X is right? Always worried about everyone else… You’re just a such problematic individual. You always have something or other going on… What happen when X can’t take it anymore? When he breaks? All because of you.”

“...” he swallowed.

 

“But Alia can help him. Can’t she? She's always been so supportive of X, hasn't she?"

"..." Again. She was right. Zero never has been any good at comforting people. But Alia was a little like X in how natural it came for her...  
Alia would be a better match.

“Just think about it, okay?”  
“...Okay.”

Now here he was. Did he regret agreeing to this? Well, yes.. And no. But there wasn’t any choice. But doing this did feel wrong.

“Alia likes him, yes?”  
“Supposedly.”  
“Hm, the first step would be getting rid of the club. Just for a little bit. Otherwise, her time would always be occupied by it.”  
“How the hell are we going to do that?” He asked.

She smiled as she delivered the answer.  
And swallowed as he nodded. 

‘Why the hell is there a cat in here?` he wondered.

Then he sighed.  
He knew he had to do this. But the guilt would not and did not vanish, as the glass cracked and smashed and broke and scattered amongst the floor. He glanced at his hands, cuts, and bits of glass stuck in his fingers and palms.

The next day he didn’t wear bandages. They would have been suspicious.

“Well done Zero.” Iris smiled sweetly. "I'm sure it must have been nerve-wracking to be in there. You must have felt so guilty… and anxious." She stroked her fingers through his golden locks as they sat and stayed there in the dim, and empty classroom. It had become their private space, away from the peering eyes.

"...It doesn't feel good, no…" like always, everything she said was true. Excessive amounts of guilt that washed over him became difficult in that room. Everybody wondering who had done it… Whispers and murmurs and rumors. He saw Alia’s heartbroken face, and the guilt had almost become overwhelming...

She pouted, "Don't worry sweetie-kins, all of this will be over soon. Things are already going the way we want. You remember what their shoe locker numbers are, right?" 

“Yes. Quick question, why lock them in?”  
“Fear builds relationships and attachment quicker,” she said matter-of-factly.

He nodded. At the 2 school entrances were a series of lockers for shoes, one for boys, and the second for girls. Nobody knew why they were separated by gender, but they were. However, in this situation, it would be well for them. 

He slipped the letters into the lockers.

The guilt of it all was hard to swallow. Everytime he passed by Alia it served as a horrible reminder of what he had done. At least he could take comfort in the fact that his part was done. He didn’t need to do much other than what he already had done.

Then X approached him.

Did he want to watch the fireworks with him? Of course, he did- Much more than he did with Iris. But this was his own sake. This was all for X. Zero had to say no.

Although his heart did break and crack a bit, this was nothing compared to X’s face that reeked of disappointment. 

Speaking of disappointment, that’s what he felt kissing Iris. It didn’t hold a candle to the flutters and fits of passions that were brought when he kissed X. Kisses with him were like fireworks in the sky. Beautiful and bright.

Kisses with Iris felt dull and grey. An explosion couldn’t compare to a dimly lit candle. Were they always like this? They used to feel much more alive at one point. He did lose his first kiss to her, after all.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t enjoy Iris’ company. No, sometimes he did feel those flitters in his stomach when he was a young 13-year-old with a girlfriend for the very first time in middle school.

But those days were long gone. Yet here he was, reading the same lines, and expecting the audience to cheer and clap again like it was just as fresh and exciting the first time.  
Reality is often disappointing, isn't it?

He knew that’s what he was doing. Disappointing her. She wanted him to be a good little boyfriend like from all the shojo manga. The kind that surprise girlfriends with the stuffed animal she was looking at on the walk home. The kind that were good at kissing. The kind that cleared out their schedules when she was feeling down.

But X….  
X never did ask much from him… Didn’t he?

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea Lumine?”

“Are you seriously asking now?”

“Isn’t this like, totally stalking them?”

“Call it what you want, we’re still doing this.”

It was a sunny Sunday, and instead of doing their own things, they were here, out, stalking what was supposed to be a lovely day for a date.

Zero leaned against a metal pole while standing at the train station. Palette, Layer, Lumine, and Layer peered at him from a corner.

“Are you sure he’s supposed to be on a date?”  
“YES I am sure Alia for the millionth time!”  
“Jeez don’t need to be rude…”  
“How do you even know all this?!” Palette huffed.  
“I have my ways.”  
“So you’ve been stalking them again.”  
“If you don’t like my methods you are more than welcome to go home.”

He looked at the group up and down.

Layer was wearing a white shirt that showed her shoulders and had a pattern of thin black vertical streaks. It was paired with a solid, plain-old black skirt.  
Alia was wearing a light pink sundress with a rose pattern. Finally, Palette was wearing a neon-green hoodie with a picture of a pixalized cherry, on the bottom of it was stitched some lacy-skirt material, and was partnered with some jean shorts. 

“Speaking of which, could none of you worn something a little less flashy?!”  
“What, at least I don’t look so suspicious, Mr sunglasses and a dark hoodie!”  
“I blend in! What’s with your lacy shit at the bottom?! Are you wanting to alert everybody in a hundred-foot radius to your presence?!”  
“It’s called style! This is fashionable in Akihabara!”  
“Newsflash! We're aren't in Akihabara and you are not a Harajuku girl!”

“Guys, “ Layer intervened and set them apart, “You’re going to lose them.” She pointed at the pair.

The two shut up and leaned in so they could listen in.

“Sorry, I’m late Zero!”

“Ah… She’s so cute…” His phone went off with clicks from the camera.

Iris was wearing a maroon skirt that went past the knees and a sleeveless top, sheer white in color with gold buttons down the middle and a pocket on the breast. She also wore a matching maroon beret and her gold hoop earrings sparkled in the sun.

“Don’t worry about it, I just got here.”

“What a cliche line…” Alia grumbled.  
“What a liar! We were all waiting here for 30 minutes!”

Layer shushed Palette.

The air wished and wished around them, and the train pulled in. Iris giggled as she hooked her arm around his own. Lumine’s teeth gritted together and he looked rather murderous as he growled,  
“Follow them! Into the train!”

“Right!”

They headed into a different train car. To the city, they go now. It was mostly empty so they all got to sit down on the large leather couch that went from end to the other. The only seat on the train. Palette picked at a loose string on the side of it. 

“Hey, Lumine?”  
“What?”

Alia leaned forward and looked at him uneasily. “We’re not here to help you. Get that through your thick skull.”  
“Of course. You’re here to help your unrequited crush.”  
“Hurk!” her expression went sour fast.

Palette and Layer gave him dirty looks.  
“Huh! You don’t have to shove it in like that!”

“While we are at it, “ Lumine continued, “Let’s get another thing straight. I don’t care if you are not here or not. I did not ask for your help, nor do I require it. You offered, and I took it. Since you are just so worried about him…”

“Are you 100% sure that what you are saying is true though?” Layer asked.

“Of course I am. Do you really think I’m the type to jump on conclusions like that? Besides, he didn’t deny it when I was at his house the other day.”

“Still… Them two dating?”

“I can see it…” Alia groaned, “Means I never even had a chance.”

“That’s not what it means at all!” Layer tried to comfort.

“Of course it does.” Lumine looked at her with a sneer, “How daft can you be? This means he isn’t interested. Get. over. Yourself!”

“You know, you’re never going to win Iris’s heart with a personality as ugly as yours.”

Lumine glared at Palette, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

 

The other day, when Alia was going to take another crack at talking to X, he certainly wasn’t to be confronted with Lumine jumping out of his window and landing on his feet like a cat.  
“What are you doing here?!”  
“Talking with X. I was hoping to have his assistance but it appears he is just too sad…” He shook his head.  
“You get away from him! He has enough problems without you-”  
“You don’t even know what it is he’s upset to do you?”  
“Well… No-”  
“If you did you would know I’m trying to help. Let me spell it out for you,” He looked pointedly at her and looked serious as he spoke,  
“X is in love with Zero.”

 

The train slowly pulled into the city station, and they traversed into an ugly and cramped crowd.

“Whatever you do, do NOT lose sight of them!”

“Roger!”  
“Yeah, yeah…”

They followed them for a good while, they traveled out of the station, and past the cafes and shops that lined the streets and Iris pointed across the street to a food stand. Zero nodded, waved and left her, standing on her own.

Palette huffed, “What are we doing even?!”  
“Shh!”

Zero came back with taiyaki in his hands. Iris beamed as she grabbed one of the fish-shaped pastries in his hand and took a bite, the sweet red bean paste filling her mouth. Some of the delicious bright red filling stuck out like a as she squeezed the pastry.

Lumine gripped the pole he was looking at them from behind. He could have snapped it if he used his full strength at that moment.

“Calm down now…”  
“So what are we doing?”  
“Collecting blackmail.”  
“Blackmail?!” Layer said.  
Lumine kept talking, “ I suppose it is nice that you are here, I can ask you to stall for time until the perfect moment arrives.”  
“Perfect moment for what?!” Palette asked.

Iris broke off a piece and fed it to Zero, giggling all the while. Lumine snapped a few pictures.  
“Need more material. Oi, you three, quit staring at me and start snapping pictures.”  
“Uhm, okay?”

So they did, they snapped picture after picture and followed them around> Iris going inside clothing stores, and kawaii stores with squishy panda plushies and hello kitty's peering through the window. Lumine had to pull the trio back and make sure they wouldn’t drool over the cute plushies and be tempted to go inside.

As they followed them, Palette piped up.  
“Zero is looking kind of miserable.”  
“He is… I’ve noticed that as well.” Layer agreed, “he kinda looks like he’s just being dragged everywhere.”  
“Like a lost child…”

“Oi.” Lumine snapped. “Less talking more snapping!”  
“Ugh, we’re not your slaves!” Palette whined as she took more pictures.  
“I’m surprised they haven’t noticed us yet…” Alia murmured.

This went on for a little while longer. They hopped to and from several couples destinations. A cafe, an arcade, window shopping several times, and the like. Until Lumine finally said,

“Alright, stall them, I need to go and execute the final part of my plan.”  
“This better be good Lumine…” Alia whined.  
“Yeah! I used up an entire vacay day for this!” Palette chimed in.  
“Just do it!”

As casually as they could, they followed the pair. As soon as the couple passed into a mostly empty street...  
Alia placed a hand on Zero’s shoulder.

“Hm?”  
“Hey Z!”  
“Oh, hey Alia… Layer, Palette.”  
“Yes, hello!” Iris chirped, “You’re in our class right?” she said with a content look on her face.  
“Mm hmm!”  
“Yep!”  
“That’s right!”  
“I thought so! You’re that group of gossip girls in the back aren’t you?”

“That’s us? I guess... Haha…” Layer tried to laugh it off.  
“Yes. Well, I’m sure you’ll be having lots of fun telling everybody about our date once school starts.” Her smile dropped. “Do you really not have anything better to do with your time than to follow us all day long? You must live sad lives.”

“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
The three were unresponsive and silenced. That hit right in the gut and with the force of 10 million tons of force.

“Now if you excuse us, “ She grinned again, “We will need to be going.”

“W-wait!” Dammit, Lumine, hurry up! Dammit dammit, if she doesn’t stop this, then she won’t be able to help X at all! Think Alia, get them to stop…

Think…  
Does Zero still care about X?  
Only one way to find out.

“X IS MISERABLE WITHOUT YOU!”  
Zero looked at her with a surprised look. Palette and Layer gave each other a dumbfounded looks. The street was now long empty. A loud crowd cheered in the distance, some sort of an event going on. It all blurred and bent into the background. What only matters is what was going on now.

“Zero. Let’s. Go.” Iris tugged on Zero’s arm forcefully.

“...What do you mean by that?” He ignored Iris.  
“I know what happened between you and X!” He seemed to buy her lie as he looked wide-eyed in surprise. The reality was she only had a vague idea.  
“I know you two were dating!” 

Zero flinched.

“...How did you-”  
“Lumine told me!”  
“How did he-”  
“I don’t know! Listen, X is positively miserable without you! He’s been wallowing in his room for a week now, and here you are on a date with your ex-girlfriend! You are the lowest of the low! Don’t you know how much he’s hurting?! You know how he is, he probably thinks it’s his own damn fault! Don’t you care about him at all?!”

Zero looked bewildered, he frowned as he looked between her and Iris, and pulled away from Iris.

“Iris this wasn’t part of-”  
“You’re right.” She cut him off and closed her eyes. “This wasn’t part of the plan. I wasn’t counting on her confession taking place so soon, or him seeing us kiss-”  
“WHAT?!”  
“But this can still work out! We can still be happy! And he can still be happy! Do you believe at all in our happiness together?!”

Like that, all the feelings Zero had desperately tried to suppress, that this was wrong, all the guilt, bubbled up to the surface, all the longing he had to be X’s arms, or for him to be in his own, it streamed out without any warning, and he blurted out,

“I can’t do this anymore!”

She stared wide-eyed at Zero. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and once they were opened, her eyes had lost their sheen and glow and were dull and lifeless.

 

“Oh, Zero… You poor thing… You don’t realize what you’ve gotten yourself into, do you? I’m afraid I can’t let you leave as soon as that.”

She smiled. It was as cold as ice.

“I’m sure Principal Sigma would find your trashing of the science room very interesting. “

“You did that?!” Alia looked at him horrified, Zero felt the walls around his collapse and his head spin, he’s really gone and fucked it up now. How the hell did everything turn out like this?

“What about your brother?” Her glance shifted to Lumine who looked down on her with a shit-eating grin.  
“Lumine!” Layer and Palette broke out of their trances.  
“Where the hell were you?!”

Lumine sniggered and rubbed the underneath of his nose with an index finger, the other arm staying still, for there was a manilla envelope tucked under it. “Oh, you’ll see.”

“What about my brother?” Iris ignored this interaction and asked very pointedly as she gave a look to Lumine that screamed drop dead, even dropping the smile from before.

“Well, wouldn’t he find these pictures very interesting?”  
In a snap, he pulled out the envelope containing multiple full color spread pictures of her- several of them unmistakably featuring Iris on a date.  
“W…” Her face went pale, “What the hell?!”

His shit-eatinggrin grew tenfold. “I know everything about you my darling! Your brother, your best friends in the city, your bust size, your greatest fears and insecurities! You see, Iris, I have never felt anything for any mortal being on this planet, but you, you are different! You are an elusive and wonderful goddess that speaks to me from the very depths of my heart and soul!”  
“But.” he paused.  
“Your taste in men is terrible.” he snickered. “And that is why I must go to such lengths. Really this wouldn’t have happened if you chose better. I know how much of a suck-up are you are. You are just onii-chan’s-" He said onii-chan in a mockingly high pitched voice. "dearest that is what you are. But this evidence is overwhelmingly against you. You can’t spin anything in your favor if I show any of this!”

“Y-you wouldn’t…”  
“Oh, I would. If that meant dropping blondie here, I would do anything.” he grinned like a cheshire cat. It sent shivers down both Zero’s and Alia’s spines, and Layer and Palette.

She clenched her fists and lowered her head. She mumbled something.

“Come again?”

Another mumble.

“Sorry I can’t-”

“All of you are idiots.” She raised her head. Her look was cold and piercing. Zero flinched, he felt it in his very soul.  
“I was trying to help you dammit!" She stared menacingly at Alia.

Alia pointed at herself, "me?"  
"YES, YOU! You stupid fucking bitch! All you had to do was to wait and everything would have turned out fine! It’s your fucking fault X will never love you! You are just too goddamn impatient!" She huffed and sneered, "it's all your damn fault that's what it is!"

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Alia looked at her, disgusted, sneering back at Iris with her brows furrowed together.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Why did you go and confess right away?! You ruined your fucking chances!” Iris stopped her foot in a fit of anger.

“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK ALL I CARE ABOUT IT GETTING WITH HIM?! I LOVE HIM! I DO! BUT I WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY! AND GUESS WHAT BITCH, HE ISN’T FUCKING HAPPY!” Alia screamed.

“...You would do that? You would sacrifice your own happiness for someone else?”  
“OF COURSE I WOULD! I CAN BE HAPPY WITHOUT HIM! It hurts… It hurts a lot but… Seeing him be happy makes me happy…” Tears were visible in the corners of her eyes.

“Zero.”  
“...”  
“I know what you’re trying to do now, Zero. You think that being with Iris would make X happy. You’re trying to be all noble like usual and sacrifice yourself for him.”

“...” Zero curtly nodded.

“Don’t. You don’t need to do that. X was already happy with you. He’s always smiling around you, and his eyes are always sparkling, you know what I mean right? How his eyes look when they do that? They look like emeralds.”

“Of course… I do.”

“I know it sounds rich coming from me… But, it’s different! You actually have a chance with him dammit! You can make each other happy! I can’t make X happy! And I want him to be happy! I don’t care if X is happier with you than me! It's becuase I love him I want him to be happy Zero! Hell, he could date VILE for all I care if that wants! If that’s what he wants! But hear this Zero-”  
She sucks in a deep breath,  
“YOU CAN’T MAKE IRIS OR YOURSELF HAPPY LIKE THIS! YOU’RE JUST PLAYING THE PARTS OF THE PLAY! AND YOUR ACTING IS KINDA WOODEN!”

That’s right.

He can’t be the good and true boyfriend like life was a shojo manga. He can’t buy her tickets to the amusement park to surprise his girlfriend on her birthday. He can’t send her emails at night before laying to rest, saying how much he loves her. He can’t buy her matching phone charms. He can’t help her study for an upcoming exam.

He knows Iris wants this. The normal lovey-dovey life of a couple in “strawberry time” mode.

 

But X…  
X never cared about any of that. Never.  
All he ever wanted…  
Was just a smile. To talk to him during lunch. To hang out with him sometimes after school.

All the things they were already doing. 

Zero tried to do more. He tried to hang out with him more than X had wanted him to. He was happy with what he already had. He never asked for much more.

But even when all that he wanted was torn away from him. He still loved Zero. He still…  
Loved. Actually loved... the blond trash bag more than anything in the world. More than his pets, and his dad, and his siblings, and his wonderful lifestyle in his big-ass house. X with a heart bigger than anyone he has ever known. A heart of pure, solid, gold.

Then Zero fucked it up.  
He really was a piece of shit.

“...” Iris sighed. Then looked sadly at Zero.  
“Are you happy?”

“....” After a moment, he said, “No. I mean… I liked… Hanging out with you… but…”

“I’m not X. “

“...No. You aren’t.”

She closed her eyes. “I can’t ever be him. “

“No, you can’t.”

“You can’t ever settle for me?”

“... No… I don’t think I can...”

“...Then... It’s been fun Zero. I’ll be seeing you…”

And just like that, she turned around and left.

 

“Oh. I should’ve asked for a date.” Lumine said aloud.  
“I don’t think now is the time.”

It had finally sunk in for Zero. How badly he fucked everything up. He looked down at his old converse sneakers.  
He had cheated on him. He had fucking cheated on him.  
He kissed someone else in front of him.  
And for what? For some illusion that that would make him happier? It clearly didn’t. The thought of him being depressed and alone in his room made his heart sting and the waterworks turn on. Fuck fuck fuck he was on the cusp of crying. Jesus Christ, he fucked up so goddamn hard.  
How was he so blind to it all until now? How did he even get these sick ideas in his head to begin with?!

All X wanted from him.  
Was Zero.  
X never gave a shit that never had any money to do anything. He just said, "Oh I don't mind paying!" Like he was the boyfriend in the shojo manga. He never cared that Vile was out to get him. Even when he beat the snot out of him- he was more fucking worried about Zero than his own damn bruised eye. But OF COURSE X WOULDN'T CARE! X IS X! THAT'S HOW HE IS!

Then Zero took it all away from him…

 

“Hey, Zero?”  
He looked up from his feet and was met with a hard smack to the face from Alia.  
“That one is for my club!”  
The other cheek then stung.  
“That’s for messing with X’s feelings!” Palette yelled.

Layer slapped his right cheek again, “I’m sorry for smacking you but you really deserve it!”  
Then Lumine slapped him. “You messed with Iris’ feelings just as much!”

“YOU FUCKED UP!” The trio of girls yelled at him at once.

Zero rubbed both of his cheeks, “Yeah. I know that now…”

Alia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
“Listen, Zero, honey. You’re a fucking gay disaster.”  
“Mm-hmm.” Both Layer and Palette agreed.

“Wh-”  
“Just shut up. Do you want X back?”  
"..Of course, I do… But I don’t-”  
“Deserve him?” 

Zero nodded.

“Bullshit!” Palette blurted out.  
“Very.” Layer agreed.

“You have known X longer than just about any of us. If anybody deserves to be with him that’s you. However, if you want him back, you’re going to suck up and I mean, BIG TIME.” Alia jabbed a finger into his chest.

“O-o-”

“You’re going to have to pull a grand gesture.” Layer said wistfully. She brushed aside her hair, revealing one forest green eye, and her bangs quickly fell back into place.

Zero stared at Layer. Then to Palette, and then Alia, and passed a quick glance over Lumine who was doing something weird as he muttered over pictures of Iris.

“What the fuck is a grand gesture?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, 4 chapters left now! Chapter- chapter- epilouge- BONUS  
> be prepared!
> 
> Also, it is always important to give proper credit the people who have helped you out! どうもありがとう！Pleasestop32! Mwah!


	14. Right again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vile and Zero duke it out while X watches.

“What is a grand gesture?! Good lord, Zero, are you retarded or something?”  
“Retarded?”  
“You have to do something that shows that you love him!” Alia explained exasperated.  
“Duh!” Palette yelled in agreement.  
“Oh… Like… What?”  
Layer facepalmed.

“I don’t know! Figure something out! And whatever it is, it has to be from the heart. Show that you care and actually love him.”

 

X was still… miserable.

He still hasn’t left his room. Rock has been trying his hardest to lift his spirits. Talking to him…

It hasn’t worked though. In fact, when Rock told him his suspicions on what happened, all he got was a nod and he started crying. 

Again…

Then X told him the whole story, and Rock knew he was out of his league. 

Rock really did try to make him feel better, but he just sat there on the wooden floor with a book.  
Rock didn’t know how to deal with any of this, he wasn’t X!

“There’s nothing I can do about it now. He chose her… He’s my friend… And I have to...support him…” 

He burst into tears again. They streamed down his cheeks as he lay on his side, and he sniffled.

“B-but X, why would he do that?! It doesn’t make any sense… I thought you guys were happy together.”

“Oh, Rock it was obvious… I was just too blind to see it in the moment… Do me a favor though. Don’t be like me. Tell Bass that you like him while you still can…”

“I-I will. B-but X, I’m kinda more worried about you right now.”  
“Well…” X sighed.  
“S-shouldn’t you at least try to talk to him?! M-maybe… It’s a misunderstanding?”  
“Me and Iris made eye contact. There was no mistake about it…”

“But, X, this just doesn’t sound like Zero! It doesn’t make any sense at all. He couldn’t… Cheat on you like that…”

X looked at him with a softened gaze.

“Apparently neither of us know him that well. I saw what I saw… And I just need to get over it… Eventually.”  
“But X…”

“I know it’s hard Rock but… Sometimes we need to come to terms with reality. No matter how painful…”  
Rock was utterly dumbfounded. “X… I don’t need to be comforted. You need help! I-I want to help you!”  
“I understand that Rock, but-”  
“Because all of this time you’ve helped me! It’s only because of you I’ve actually with friends with Bass!” He heart wrenched in his stomach, and he felt totally, and utterly useless. 

“Rock… It’s okay. “ X wiped the tears from Rock’s eyes, tears he didn’t know were there.  
“You can’t do anything.”

“i-I’m sorry Xavier…”  
“Don’t be. It’s fine.” And X hugged him.

He felt even more useless than before.

“I-I’m supposed to help you and y-you’re still trying to help me…” Rock sniffed.

X pulled away, “I guess… that’s just in my nature.” He weakly smiled. 

 

The door suddenly burst open. Roll stepped in with a huff, and handed X an envelope.  
“What’s this?” X asked.

“Don’t know. It’s for you though. “

X ripped it open and read the folded up note on the inside.

“I see. Zero wants to talk.”  
“Finally. Where’s he been all this time?” She rolled her eyes and left.

“...X…”  
“It’s fine Rock.” X slowly stood got up. “I’m ready to talk to him. I won’t run away. I’m going to support him and their relationship…”  
“B-but… X… This is… Not right. I-if you and Zero can’t succeed in a relationship… How am I supposed to?”  
“I don’t know. “ X said after a moment, “It’s always a risk… But if you really love someone, it’s worth it. And I love Zero. It hurts… But I will always be there for him.”

“...” Rock to the sign to leave once X started digging through his closet for something to wear. 

It was so confusing. Why Zero? How was he supposed to succeed with someone like Bass if the dream team, the couple, the model relationship Rock had seen all this time couldn’t do it?

It was all so complicated… poor… poor X. He didn’t deserve this. Bass was right, he was a piece of…  
Piece of…  
Sssshit.

X deserved better anyway…

‘It’s always a risk.’  
Was Rock willing to take that risk?

X left the house wearing a white tank-top under a blue oversized dress shirt that was unbuttoned in the front, and rolled up at the sleeves. It was partnered with blue flip-flops and dark blue shorts that reached just above his knee.

He regretted not bringing a sunhat with him as the sun glared harshly on those who walked below. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Nervousness pooled into his stomach, accompanied by dread.

He knew what was coming. He knew what was going to be said. And he knew what was to be expected of him.  
He would have to revert back the status quo of X and Zero- best friends and nothing more, ready to take on the world with their buddy Axl at the side.  
It was going to be easier said than done. But X was willing to give it up.  
He wasn’t going to run away from it.

The note said to meet him by a bridge- X knew the one he was talking about. The one that faced the buildings of the town to the west, and faced Uzamaki forest to the east, the one they passed by so many times on the way to school and back home, but never needed to cross.

It was 5 o’clock now. The world was still covered in the sun's glowing light, and the shadows were harsh, the white concrete burned into people's eyes and blinded them.  
In a few hours, the sun would take it’s rest for the day and the moon would awake.  
But that wouldn’t be for some time-

The collar of X’s shirt was suddenly yanked back and the oversized dress shirt and dug into X’s armpits; earning a scream of pain. 

He knew who it was this time. 

“V-Vi-”  
“Hey there, fuck-ass…” Vile growled.  
X swallowed. He really, truly did not have time for this.  
“V-Vile, please- let me go-”  
“Are you going to fight or squeal like a little girl?!”  
“Yeah!” Penguin squawked in the background as he shoved down chips and gupled them down his metaphorical beak. His big nose pointed haughtily in the air. As he stared at X, grinning maniacally. He viewed this as just a show, entertainment for his feeble self.  
X caught a glimpse of Eagle’s clear red eyes, and he wondered, again, why he was with them.

“I said, ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT BACK?!”  
“...” X looked to his side. “Do whatever you want Vile. Just get it over with.”  
Vile scoffed. “Oh look at you. Fucking pussy feeling all sorry for yourself. I held back last time. You won’t be so fucking lucky this time.”

X flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the eventual impact. 

It never came.

“Vile.”

X was dropped to the ground. He stared in awe at-

“Zero. What a surprise. Are you here to save your fucking boyfriend?” He taunted.

Zero’s blue eyes glimmered brightly in the dark alleyway. He stood, shoulder width apart, fists clenched to his sides. His blonde hair caught the breeze behind him and swayed gently back and forth.

“HIYA!” Penguin charged at him and went in for a punch. Without flinching Zero caught his fist, pulled his arm back around him, and slammed him down into the ground. He pressed harshly onto him with his foot, holding him firmly in place. Zero’s expression didn’t change as Penguin struggled against him, squeaking with pain.

“Eagle. Penguin. Leave.”  
“But-”  
“This is between me and pretty boy here.”

Eagle nodded and dipped into the shadows. Zero pushed Penguin aside with his foot. He tried to protest-

“Penguin, if you don’t leave now you won’t live to tomorrow.”

And he rushed off. Vile redirected his attention to Zero. 

“Well? You didn’t answer my question. Are you here to save your perfect fucking boyfriend?”  
“Yes.”  
“Well then. You didn’t deny it. I knew this entire time, you really are a big fucking faggot.”

Zero’s expression hardened to hatred.

“I’m not doing this for you, Vile. I’m doing this for him.” He glanced at X, and said softly, “I’m sorry.”  
“Huh?”  
“What are going on about? I don’t care if you faggots got into some sort of fight. All I care about is our fight. Now come on! I’m not that little bitch you knew in middle-school, who kept getting his ass kicked! Now get ready!”

“I was born ready.” Zero put his fists up and planted his feet firmly on the ground. “X…”  
X’s eyes bored into his own.  
“This is my grand gesture.”

 

“W-wait, Zero-”

“HA!” Vile lunged, fists swinging, and Zero blocked it. Zero swiftly kicked his side, and he crashed into the wall, dark purple motorcycle helmet scraping against the wall. He didn’t even flinch and lunged straight for Zero, dragging him down to the ground. He grunted in pain, a rock dug into his back side and he cursed as he lay in the alleyway. 

Vile pushed one hand down on his chest, and socked him, hard in the jaw. Pain flared up and felt dull. Zero summoned the strength he had and flipped him, the situation reversed.

They struggled, fists colliding as they wrestled, flipping each other over and scratching, hitting, attacks becoming messy and almost unwieldy.

And while all this happens, X knew he couldn't do much but watch in mute horror.  
This was just awful. 

“You call me the faggot when you’re the one with your hands all over me-” Zero wheezed out as Vile wrung his hands around his neck.

“FUCK YOU!” Vile screamed and raised a fist, ready to sock him again.

Zero took the opportunity to shove him off. He stood up to his feet. Pain was felt deep and sore over several parts of his body. His breaths were short and exhaled in and out. Vile laid there for a moment. He stood up-

Crack- crick CRACK!  
Something cracked.

They stared at each other for a moment. Zero felt something wet drip down his face. He dabbed at his forehead and glanced at his fingers.

Red.

His hair was a mess, dirty with stray hairs flinging all over the place, while the top of his head was stained with blood.

Vile on the other hand did not have injuries as bad as Zero’s, due to his protective helmet.

Vile lunged, Zero side stepped, and let him crash into the wall. Gleaming silver caught his eye.

A rusted metal pipe.

Vile lunged at him again, and Zero brought the pipe up and swung with all his might.

CRACK!

Vile’s visor cracked like a spiderweb. It danced across where his eyes would be.

They stared at each other for another moment. Then slowly, his fingers hooked under his helmet, and slid it over his head. The helmet fell to his side with a dull clunk. 

His solid black hair was greasy and matted with a severe case of helmet hair- his face was wet as well. It was shiny from something, Zero sure as hell wouldn’t know, and little red spots congested at his forehead and across his cheeks, nose and chin.

His eyes were yellow, and cat-like, an awful, and large burn mark covered the right eye.

Silence. No words were exchanged. 

Ptooey!

Vile spit something out, small and white. Zero glanced down at the ground.

A tooth.

As he spoke, his mouth looked flooded with blood, some leaked down his mouth. “Fine. You fucking win. Have fun with your orgy or whatever you faggots like to do.”  
He spat on the ground again, his spit was pure red.

When he left, he left the helmet behind.

 

Zero fell to his knees.  
He won.  
He hardly thought about what he was doing during battle, but taking a step back from it all, he realized he probably fucked up again.  
X wouldn’t appreciate a gesture like that. In fact, he was almost sure that this just set him back a bit.

Goddammit.

“Zero! Are you okay?!”

X pulled a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. The crisp clean cotton sucked up the red blood and would most likely forever be stained with it now.  
Zero sucked in a breath, the pain was unintentional and hurt nonetheless.  
X glanced at the rest of his injuries.  
“Oh Zero…”  
He gently brushed against a bruise on his arm. Just this touch made shivers go up Zero’s spine.  
“You’re going to get yourself seriously hurt one of these days…”

“You don’t need to tell me that…” Zero muttered to himself.  
“Wait here. I’ll go get something to patch you up-”  
“Wait.” Zero grabbed his wrist. “Don’t go.”

X looked confused, “Z-”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“What for? You didn’t-”  
“X... “ Zero sucked in a deep breath. “I fucked up. I fucked up so so so hard…”

“Ze-”  
“I cheated on you X.” Zero plled away and looked at him in the eyes. “I did, and I… I’m so sorry. I don’t love Iris. I can’t love her… I…” her choked down in embarrassment and, “I LOVE YOU!”

Oh.  
He still…  
But then…  
He doesn’t… Want to...

“Zero…” X’s eyes glimmered. 

Zero could feel his face growing red, but he had to preserve on. “I-I actually, do l-love you… I-I know… I haven’t really… shown that… But I mean it and can…”  
Zero grabbed X’s hands.  
“Can... “ he exhaled, “Can you please forgive me?”

X’s eyes were watering.  
Oh fuck fuck fuck fufck fuck FUCK of course he fucked it up he fucked it up, he fucked it up so goddamn hard again.

“Zero… I… You… You don’t… Want to be with Iris?” He squeaked.  
Zero shook his head. “No, I don’t... “  
“I-I’m confused. I thought I wasn’t… Good enough. Iris was able to help you out more than I ever could have…” Tears spilled down X’s cheeks, and he sniffled.  
"If you are just saying this to make me feel better, don't . It's okay if you want to be with-"  
"X I would never say that and not mean it."  
"But Zero… Zero… why?" X squeezed his eyes shut and the tears continued to spill down his cheeks. “It hurt so much… What you did. I was lonely. I missed having you by my side… I even cried after you told me you were going with Iris to the fireworks festival.”  
He confessed. More tears formed and threatened to spill. He wiped them away, getting fed up with crying.

“Y-you did? I’m sorry I just…”He was going to reach out for him, but thought better of it. “I-I thought…” he swallowed. “I don’t… understand why you like me. You constantly have to spend money on me, I’m not nearly as smart as you are, I have a shitty family, I live in a trailer for god's sake and… I thought you would be happier with someone like Alia… She’s pretty, smart, she always knows what to say and…” Zero trailed off.

Oh.  
It finally made sense in X’s head. The distance, the hanging with Iris…  
Oh Zero, you really are an idiot...And yet, X still felt sympathy. He was much more than what he gave himself credit for. Always was, always will…  
So annoying, sometimes. 

“Zero…” X brushed some of his hair away from his face. “How long have we known each other?”  
“...About 10 years...”  
“Zero, if I cared about any of that? Why would I be friends with you all this time?”  
“...”  
“If I cared about that, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.”  
“I know… I know you didn’t care about that… But I was… being stupid like usual…” Zero mumbled.

“Zero…”  
“...”  
“Come here.”  
Zero scooched up to him a bit, wincing a bit.

X embraced him.  
His arms were warm and soothing around him. He felt nothing but his warmth, and the pain from his injuries seemed to fade away into the background. He could only feel his arms around him and smell the scent of his cinnamon scented hair.  
“I forgive you. Okay?”  
“But why?”  
“Because I love you Zero. Always had… I think I always will…” He said gently.  
“Dammit… Dammit X… But why? Why would you love someone like me?” His voice shook a bit, wavering.

X stared him in the eyes, and cupped his cheek. Thumb stroking the smooth skin of his cheek. X knew every feature on his face, every curve and dip and every pore. Zero unconsciously leaned into his touch and stared breathlessly, waiting for the sound that escaped from X’s lips. 

“Because you’re Zero.”

 

X leaned in, closer and closer. Closing his green eyes, his breath tickling against Zero’s face. He watched helplessly as their lips made contact.

It felt wonderful. It felt right, it felt real, it really was like a big burst of fireworks up in the sky.  
It was much better than anything Iris had to offer.

 

Zero had something to prove in that kiss, that he loved X, and kissed with fervor that was unmatched. X was swept up into it all, wrapping his arms around his neck and entangling his hands within his blonde locks- not caring about the scent of blood and sweat that swept up his nose.

Zero was here. That was enough for him.

 

They stared at each other once they pulled away.

“Let’s get you patched up.” 

 

X came back home with his hands intertwined with Zeros, looking happier than he had all week.

Rock was relieved at the sight, and it restored his faith in perhaps confessing to Bass, just a little bit.

 

“Where have you been all this time?!” Roll crossed her arms. Zero looked at her with confusion.  
“X has been depressed all this time, and you only now stroll in when it’s time for dinner?”

“...” Zero’s face turned red from embarrassment.  
“It’s fine Roll.” X spoke up, “It’s all been sorted out now.” He grinned.

“...Well alright then.” She sighed, “Get a plate, it’s time to eat!”

 

Everything was right again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> need more practice writing fight scenes, but it didn't turn like crap as thought.  
> Oh yeah! Finally, the edginess has passed and the power couple has been re-united!  
> *hooray!*  
> While i'm at itsorry for all the slurs in the text, but it was part of Vile's character and there really isn't a replacement word;;; Gomen, gomen- HOLY SHIT THERES ONLY 2 REAL CHAPTERS LEFT AAAAAAA


	15. Watch the fireworks with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock and the gang eat yakisoba, Alia threatens to castrate Zero, and Lumine uses Reddit.

“Alright! Let's go get some food!” Cut cheered.   
“Yeah!”  
“I’m starving!”

The fabric from their yukata moved stiffly as the group traveled around. 

It was 8 o’clock in the evening and the festival was in high swing- the sky above was preparing to set, and the stalls below were in high gear, bustling with people. Parents walked with their children in hand, whilst kids ran around wearing superhero masks. Just about everyone in the crowd wore yukatas of a whole rainbow of colors.

Roll’s hair was tied back in a bun by X and was clipped together with a feathery flower pin. Her yukata was softly pink in color, with red, orange, green, and red colors. The sash in the middle was a shade of off-white and was decorated in small flowers that were the same shade as the yukata base color.

Cut wore a yukata that was more like something you’d wear to a bathhouse- a loose top with a sash tied around to keep in place and matching shorts. The outfit was dark blue in color and was in a grid pattern, kinda like plaid.

“Don’t get lost Icey!” Roll said and grabbed his hand. He blushed a bright red and bowed his head.   
Ice wore a simple blue yukata, the same shade as the jacket he always wore. His fluffy white hair moved with the breeze and he pushed his coke-bottle glasses up his nose.

Cut snickered, and grinned. “I want some corn on the cob!” He proclaimed.  
“What? We’re at a festival and you want corn? Forget that! Yakisoba all the way!” Roll countered.  
“I-I kinda want some okonomiyaki.” Ice stuttered.  
“I’m craving something sweet.” Rock offered. “Like Chocolate covered bananas… and dango…” Thinking about it made his mouth water. Rock was wearing a blue yukata with an ocean wave pattern. It fluttered through the wind almost exactly like the waves. 

“Ooh! Dango, that sounds good!” Cut agreed.  
“Ugh! We can’t all go in different directions, or else we’ll never find each other again! How about this, we go to get yakisoba and dango.”  
“I guess that’s reasonable…” Ice muttered.

Rock’s stomach growled at the scent of the fried noodles as he waited.  
“Maaan! That smells soooo good!!!” Cut whined.  
“See why I wanted some?” Roll giggled.

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Oh, look it’s X!” Rock waved at him in the crowd, he spotted his navy blue yukata from a mile away. He bounced over with his boyfriend in tow, whose blonde hair flitted behind him.

Zero was wearing a yukata the shade of a deep wine red, the “pants” of it were black with thin white vertical stripes, and the sash around the middle was black as well. Rock thought he looked very handsome but thought it would be awkward to say such a thing aloud. 

“What are you doing?” X asked with a smile.  
“Waiting in line for yakisoba.”  
“I had some earlier. It was good, wasn’t it Z?”  
Zero grumbled in agreement. His cheeks were slightly red. Rock glanced down.  
Their hands were intertwined with each other.

“I bet Bomb is excited about the fireworks. He’s always loved those. By the way, where are Bomb and the others…?” X asked.  
“We lost them a while back.” Roll said sheepishly.  
“Yeah… It is crowded here. It’s what happened to us earlier. We had Bass right behind us and as soon as we turned around… He was gone.”  
“Eh? Bass is here?” Excitement flitted through him.

“Unfortunately,” Zero said.  
X rolled his eyes, “Ze-ro be nice.”  
“What’s he wearing?”  
“He’s robably the only one in the crowd not wearing a yukata. I don’t have the money to rent one, Wily sure as hell wasn’t going to do that…”  
“You could have told me, I could have gotten him one.”  
“It’s bad enough you got me one.”

“Zero- when are you going to get it through your thick skull I don’t mind to spend money on you?” X pecked his cheek and Zero further blushed.

Cut gagged, “Ew!”  
Roll smacked his arm, “Oh get over it!”

“You have fun okay?”  
“You too X!”  
“Good luck finding Bass! We’ll let you know if we see him!” Then they disappeared back into the crowd. 

“I didn’t know they were dating,” Cut said flatly.   
“You got a problem with it?”  
“Huh? No, I was just saying I didn’t know they were dating…”  
“*I* think they are adorable. What do you think Icey?”  
“Huh? Oh well… They’re just another couple I guess.” he rubbed the back of his head rather nervously. “I’m not really sure what-”

“Oh snap! We’re next in line!”  
Icey sighed. 

 

“Oi! X!”  
“Oh, Alia!”

X waved at her with his free hand. Zero waved a bit as well, and she came over to where they were.

“Jeez, I’m terrible at all these games… I haven’t won anything!”  
Alia’s hair was pinned up with pretty flower berets and held in place with hair sticks.  
Her yukata was light blue with pink and red flowers and around the middle was a red and pink sash with a bow in the back. 

“Zero managed to scoop a few goldfishes earlier.” X beamed. Zero pulled a baggie from his pocket, in which a black and orange goldfish swam around in. 

“Ehhhh- lucky!”  
Palette suddenly chimed in with Layer in tow.  
Her yukata was green and white striped, with multicolored butterflies creeping up the bottom and the oversized sleeves. Her platinum blonde hair was pinned up into 2 large buns onto sides of her head- most would find the look to be very endearing. 

Layer’s yukata was a light purple with a pattern of rich wisteria flowers that look almost painted on. Her hair was pure black and nothing was done to it. It flowed straight down her shoulders, perfectly manicured. She looked almost like a Japanese princess.

“I suuuck at that game!”  
“You can have them if you want,” Zero said. “I don’t have anywhere to put a goldfish- and that mutt we have at home would probably eat them anyway.”  
“Eh? Seriously?” Layer softly smiled at Palettes' beaming expression as she took the fish from his hands. “Right on! Thanks, Zero.”  
“Least I could do…”  
Alia giggled, “You both look adorable together.”

X chuckled and Zero’s face flushed red again.

“Remember Zero, you still owe us!”  
“Yeah, I remember. What do you want?”  
“All I want is your word is that we are the bridesmaids at your wedding.” The other girls nodded in agreement

Zero nearly choked on the air and even X’s face flushed bright red at this. The girls giggled.

“A-alia don’t mess with Zero like that…”  
“I’m not messing with him! I’m serious, if you both get married we better be the bridesmaids!”  
“P-please I think he’s having an aneurysm…” 

The girls giggled again.

“Hm? What about me?”  
“Huh?”

Lumine grinned behind them. Eyes glaring with a maniacleness to them.   
“Uh…”  
“What about you?!” Palette hmph’d.   
“Well, I was the one to blackmail Iris. if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”  
“Yeah, yeah, you get Iris! You already have your “reward.” She said with quotation marks. 

“...About that..” the grin from his face disappeared, “I have decided she’s no longer the goddess I thought she was. She’s rather… Whiney. How did you put up with her?” he asked Zero.

Zero got over his fit and shrugged casually. 

“Well, anyways. Time to move on. My infatuation was just lust, rather than anything more meaningful. How disappointing… I thought I was above such emotions…”

“That’s uh-”  
He interrupted X, “Although recently Axl has caught my eye.”

“...”

All of them were silent. 

“What.”

“Don’t be alarmed. These feelings are different. I wish to get to know him better is all.”  
“Er… Axl is straight Lumine…” X deadpanned.

“So is spaghetti until it gets wet.”  
“Oh my god, you did NOT just say that.” Alia cringed.  
“Jesus, scroll through Tumblr much?” Palette smacked her lips in disgust.   
“Of course not, I have better things to do with my time than spend time on that site for simpletons.”  
“So you use Reddit, got it.”  
“How’d you know?”

Palette and Alia rolled her eyes.

“You are NOT going to steal Axl away.  
“Oh, you’re crushing on him all of a sudden?” he smirked.

“I always have! I’m not going to let you steal him away from me! I’m not going to be like-”  
“Go ahead and rub it in…” Layer said tearfully.  
“W-wait Layer that’s not what I-”

“Hey, guys!”  
“Speak of the devil,” X mumbled.

Axl waved to them. Lumine was hushed into silence, his wooden sandals clip-clopped as he ran over to them, wearing what was the most formal out of all them. Rather than a breezy yukata, it was a full-blown kimono with a what seemed to be a family seal on the chest. The colors were black, white, and accented with reds.

“What's with the get-up?” Zero asked, point blank.  
“Couldn’t find my Yukata in time. This was the next best thing.”

“I see.”

Axl caught Lumine’s glance. X studied his face, it was tinged pink and he frowned slightly.

No way.  
X glanced at Alia who caught his gaze and mouthed “What the fuck?”

“Oh, you’re that weirdo Lumine! Long time no talk.”  
“...I suppose.”  
“How come you’re here../? I mean you usually don’t hang out with Alia outside the science club.”

“It’s ‘cause he doesn’t have any friends.” Palette snarked.

“Shut up, I don’t need friends.”  
“Ehhhh, even if widdle ol’ me offered to be your friend?” Axl gave puppy dog eyes and smiled playfully.  
“...” Lumine turned away.

X caught Alia’s gaze again. She put her hands up in disbelief.

 

“Let’s go get some chocolate bananas.” Zero suddenly spoke up. “I’m hungry.”  
“Ah, good idea!” Layer agreed.  
“I heard there are crepes around. How about we get some of those?” Alia then suggested.  
“I LOVE crepes!” Axl bounced excitedly.  
“Then let’s go!”  
“Oi, Lumine, you coming?” Axl asked.  
“...” he nodded and trudged behind.

Whilst the others were stuffing their mouths with the sugary dessert- Alia walked over to Zero, and took his arm.  
X gave her a quizzical look.

“I’m just borrowing him!” Zero looked wide-eyed as she led him away from the group.

“Just wanted to wish you good luck- and remind you that if you break X’s heart again I will make sure that you never get the chance to reproduce.” she smiled sweetly.  
“...I know I was an idiot.” Zero said after a moment. “All I can think now is how I managed to get lucky enough for him to stay with me…”  
“Yep! You are lucky! At least you’re self-aware enough to know that.”  
“...Alia.”

“Hm?”  
“Why did you help me anyways?”  
“What do you mean?” she tilted her head to the side.”  
“You really don’t have a chance with him since he’s with me… Why didn’t you just let me be an idiot and try to take him for yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell you what I told Iris. I want X to be happy. He’s happy when he’s with you, and he isn’t nearly as happy when he’s with me. I’m okay with that. I already knew I never had a chance with him. Now I can get over him.”  
She paused.  
“Besides, I don’t need to be dating someone to be happy.” she patted his arm, “Good talk, now get back to your husband.”

His face turned red, “...Do you really think that someday-”  
She shrugged, “I dunno, what do you think?”  
“...”  
“Alright don’t hurt yourself big guy.” She sighed, “ Come on.”

He still thought that someone like her deserved X more than him. But that was okay. Because X could have chosen to be with Alia. But he didn’t.  
Now Zero just had to make sure X wouldn’t regret that choice. 

 

Meanwhile, Rock and his group of friends sat on the stairs to the nearby shrine, eating the hot fried noodles in plastic containers with their chopsticks. The sun was setting, and the lanterns strung throughout the place lit and begun to glow. Contrasting against the sky that was soon to be pitch black.

“Ah- おもい！Great idea ya had Roll! Stuffs the bomb! I forgot how freaking good yakisoba was!”  
“I-I did too!” Ice stammered.  
“Told you. You wanna go get some dango now?”  
“Mm!” Rock nodded and finished the last bite of yakisoba.  
“Alright! And after that, I swear, this is the year I get a goldfish without that stupid scoop thing tearing!”  
“It's called a “poi” and you say that every year.” Roll snickered.  
“You’ve never been able to scoop out even one Cut…”

Nearby the shrine was Uzamaki forest, it was practically in the backyard.   
“...” A light inside the dark depths caught his eye- he felt drawn to it for reasons seemingly unknown. 

“...”  
“Rock! Where are you-”

He ran off inside. As he grew closer and closer to the source of light it became more and more clear that the source was a fire. But who started it? 

 

“Blues.”

Blues glanced at him.

“Hey.”  
“...Why’d you run off again?”  
“...I don’t know. Felt like I didn’t belong I guess.”  
“Blues-”  
“I can’t promise I’ll be back for good, but I will visit. Thinking of stopping by tomorrow.” He reached out and ruffled his hair. 

 

Rock was confused, affectionate actions like that weren’t really his style. But Rock wasn’t the type to turn it down and accepted it.

“Stopping by…? But… Why can’t you stay with us at the house…?”  
He paused. “Listen Rock, I can’t intrude on your own life. I need to find the group I belong to. I can’t piggy-back off of your own. Okay?”  
“..No… It isn’t okay.” Rock said hesitantly. “I don’t understand what you are talking about at all…”

“...” Blues sighed. “The reason I ran away was because… I overheard a conversation that Light was having. He said something along the lines of wishing I was different…” he winced.  
“You know I was never like you or X. I get that I’m the blacksheep of the family, the odd one out.”

Now Rock was lost.  
“...I’ve never felt that way.”  
“Come on Rock. You and I both know that’s true.”  
“I’m serious Blues. I never thought you were an outsider or anything… You’re our brother.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder about that... Are we really related?”  
“Huh?”  
“If Dr. Light really is our dad then who gave birth to us? Surely you’ve thought about that before?”  
“I mean, of course I have. But does that really matter? You’re my brother, and so is X, and Roll is my sister.”

Blues chuckled.  
“See what I mean? Roll and X would probably say the same. I’m the only one who gets bothered by this.”  
“...Blues…”  
“I just needed some time to think. You have your friends and your day to day lives and well… I can’t really fit into that. I just need time to be on my own and discover who I really am.”  
“...You said you would visit right?  
“Of course.”  
“Well...Okay then. I don’t really understand what you’re talking about… But I’ll pass the message to Roll.”  
“Thank you.”

“...You know I love you right?”  
“Of course you would say something like that Rock,” he smiled faintly. “And good luck. I’ve been thinking about it and… I think you could be good for Bass.”  
His eyes light up, and he grinned from ear to ear. “Really?”

Blues nodded, “really.”  
“Thanks, Blues! See you!  
“See you.” he waved and Rock ran away from sight.

Then-

“Ouch!”

“Ack, Bass?”

Bass scowled down at him. 

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you fucking everywhere.”  
Bass was wearing a white T-shirt with faded words printed on,   
“The promised neverland- screening- 2001”

“W-we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Rock beamed and grabbed his wrist. Bass looked down at it with confusion.

“Let’s go get some Dango!”  
“I don’t have money.”  
“That’s okay- I do!”  
“Your sister is going to be mad. ``You're taking advantage of him.’” he mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

Rock frowned.

“Don’t listen to her. You’re my friend.”

Bass stared at him.

Uh oh. Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that…  
He chuckled.  
“Yeah. Don’t know how the fuck you did it. But I guess we are…”

Rock lit up like a Christmas tree.

 

“This Dango tastes so good!” Cut exclaimed. 

Roll bit into her sweet treat. The Dango served was the hanami kind- the kind that came in 3 different colors on a single skewer. Green, white, and pink. Not that they tasted any different.

Bass bit off the pink piece. 

Roll leaned over to whisper, “When are you going to tell him?”  
“When are you going to tell Icey?”  
“I do not like Icey!” She whispered back. Cut raised an eyebrow but ultimately said nothing, Icey was chewing on the white piece of dango so he clearly hadn’t paid much attention. 

“This tastes… weird.” Bass suddenly scowled.  
“Weird how?” Rock asked.  
“Try it.” He handed the half-eaten piece of dango to him. Rock bit into half of it and chewed.  
“Huh. Doesn’t taste strange to me.” he handed it back. Bass shrugged and bit off the rest.

Rock suddenly had a thought.  
‘Oh my god. We just indirectly kissed.’ he blushed, bright red.  
“You alright? Sick or something?”  
“E-eh?”  
“Your face is red.”  
“O-oh. Y-yeah I’m fine… hehe…” he rubbed the back of his head.

“...” Ice rolled his eyes and Roll scowled.

Cut flicked his skewerer in the nearby trash can. “Oi, Rock, talk to me for a minute?”  
“Huh? Oh, uh, hai.” he bit the last piece of dango and followed him.

They sat on the steps of the shrine again.   
“Fireworks are going to start soon.” Cut said.  
“Oh yeah… Bet Bomb’s really excited.   
“Mm-hmm…” the lights from the lanterns lit up the freckles on Cut's face.

“What you wanna talk about?”  
“I dunno. Just stuff. I mean, we really haven’t talked like this in a while have we?”  
“I guess not…”   
“Can you talk to me, for like, real, what is it about Bass that you like so much?”

Rock sighed. He thought about it for a long moment.

“You know… I just realized I never told you why I wanted to be friends with Bass.”  
He paused. Cut was silent, out of character for him but he persevered on and stared ahead.   
“It’s because… Well, I have this photo from a long time ago. It was when we were younger… and you know, we weren't fighting. It made me think that there was a chance of being like that again, you know? And well... “

He sighed.

“I think we’re friends now… But I wonder… How long can I be just friends for? I really… Y-you know like him. More than just a friend. His hair is amazing, and his eyes…” he blushed, “I must sound like a girl, haha…” he chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head.   
“I don’t know how long I’ll be able to wait… Or how long I should wait. X tells me that I shouldn’t wait too long… But how long is too long? I bet I’m not making any sense. I mean, you’ve never had a crush before have you?” He turned to look at him. 

Cut stared back. “No- you’re right I haven’t. But you know, I think you’re right about it being too early. You know… The only reason we were telling you to confess was because Roll is convinced if you did he would jump to hating you again and show his true colors.”

“...” Rock’s face fell. “Oh…”  
“But you know what? That’s kind of messed up to do that to a friend. Setting you up for failure.” His expression softened, “Roll’s just worried about you. You know? My brothers do the same thing sometimes. Even though they could be annoying as all hell… they mean well. She does too.”   
“Thank you, Cut.”  
“Ey- ain’t that what friends are for?” He slapped the back of his head, and Rock leaned over and rubbed the back of it.  
“I guess… I’m sorry that I haven’t really... You know… Been acting like a friend to you all…”  
“What? Pssssh- it’s fine. You’re just becoming sharper.” he winked.  
Rock rolled his eyes, “Your "puns" still suck though.”  
“Yeah? Haha.”

“What are you talking about?” Roll sat next to Cut, Ice sat next to Roll and Bass sat next to Rock.

“Nothing much.” Cut shrugged. “Roll- can I pull ya aside for a quick sec?”  
“Eh? What is it?”  
“You’ll find out.” Ice glared as they strolled out of sight.

“I thought you were going to convince him to confess!”  
“Well I mean… Yeah… But then I had a thought. Isn’t it kinda messed up to set him up for failure like that? I mean, I get you’re worried about him but like, if I told Rock that Icey had a crush on Splash, and then he told you to confess to him because he didn’t like Ice and wanted you to get over him- wouldn’t that be messed up? And isn’t this kinda like that?

“...I suppose…” she kicked at the ground. “Since when were you the voice of reason?”  
“Since always!”  
“Yeah yeah… By the way- I so do not like Icey!”  
“Suuure you don’t.”  
“...But what does he think of me…?”

He grinned like a cheshire cat and his eyes gleamed. “I’m glad you asked! It’s obvious to everyone around us that he is totally-”

“OI! ROLL! CUT! The fireworks are going to be starting soon!” Rock yelled at them.

“Well that’s our cue!” Cut proclaimed.  
“W-wait a moment Cut! What were about to say- Oh, look, it’s X!” She waved over at him. X waved back and she forgot all about what they were talking about and skipped over. 

“What are you and Zero doing?” Roll asked.  
“We’re waiting for the fireworks over there.” X pointed to the group sitting at the few benches around the place.   
“Can we watch with you?”  
“Sure!”

“Oi, Rock, are you going to watch with us?”  
“Nah, I think I would rather stay here.”  
“Same. Not that you care.” Bass grumbled.

“Hmph. Fine.” Roll, Ice obviously went, and Cut left behind Bass and Rock to the group of teenagers.

“...”  
Rock’s gaze was fixated on X and Zero. X sat right next to Zero and pecked his cheek, whilst grabbing his hand again. Zero’s face flushed but he returned the favor.

Rock looked over at Bass. He couldn’t be sure, but he almost seemed to be starting where he was.

“Do you like fireworks Bass?”  
He looked over at him.  
“They’re fine I guess.”  
“Bomb really likes them.”  
“Crash really liked them. It was kind of annoying, actually.”

“Hm… You know… they look really happy.” Rock said carefully.  
“Who does?”  
“X and Zero. Despite all that happened… You know we were right! Turns out Zero actually did do all that… Cheating...”

Bass tch’d.  
“I knew it. Fuck face…”  
“I wouldn’t be able to get over it as X would.”  
“Hopefully he doesn’t regret it. I don’t care at all ‘bout Zero’s love life. But he better not do that shit again. Fucked up. If he does that again, convince X to break it off.”  
Rock laughed nervously, “I don’t think I need to do that anytime soon... They look happy enough.”  
“I guess they do. Not that I care.” Bass quipped.  
“I feel that happy around you.” Rock blushed at what he said, “Of course l-like friends.”  
“I knew what you meant.”

“Er well...Do you think it would be nice to have someone like that?”

“...” Bass paused. “...I’ve never thought about it. But I guess it would be.”  
“Do you have a crush?”

‘Shit- shOOT- why did I ask that?!’

“...I don’t know.”  
“Huh?”

Bass frowned as if reaching for something deep within the reaches of his brain. “...I might? But I honestly don’t know. It’s… confusing.”  
“Alright… Want to talk about it?”  
“...Not really…”  
“oh... “  
“I need to sort some things out first.”  
“Well alright. You can always talk to me.”

“...Thank you.” He mumbled. 

BOOM! POW!

The crowd oohed and aahed at the explosions up in the sky. Purples and yellows and reds and blues going up to the sky, cascading their colors on the people below. 

Rock felt something around his shoulder.  
“Hm?”

He looked over to Bass. He had put an arm around him. 

“No wonder you like this so much...” Bass said after a moment. “This feels… Nice. I guess…”  
Rock blushed.

Serious progress...

He’ll tell him. Maybe not now, but he will one of these days. 

But until then, he was happy as things were. Not the same happiness that X and Zero had but... This was enough.   
Until then, he'll be dreaming of a day where it comes into reality...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;-;  
> I'm sure some of you are upset this didn't end in a confession, but I felt this was the natural end for the characters and for Bass to accept his confession would be way too soon... And obviously we can't end this with Bass calling Rock a f-g and running off (like he probably would)  
> However- there is still the epliouge.  
> Man this really is the final-ish chapter huh....


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holding hands on a cool fall afternoon...

“Happy one month anniversary!”

“One-month anniversary?” 

It was a chilly fall day. The air was getting colder and the degrees were dropping by the day now. Large piles of leaves built up and some of the trees looked dead and bare.  
Rock and Bass sat on a bench away from the school

Bass stared at the package in Rock’s hands with an incredulous expression.

“Yup! One month anniversary! Can you believe it? It doesn't feel like it's been a month has it?” He grinned.

“...” Bass took it from his hands. Stupid Rock, giving gifts for no reason... Wait-

“Was I supposed to give you something…?” He asked.

“Oh! No, I-I just saw it on the way home a-and thought you would like it so…” Rock trailed off, his cheeks pink.

“...” Goddammit, he was going to be the death of him, he swore it. Bass opened the package. It was a crimson red scarf. Soft to the touch, probably the nicest scarf he’s ever had.  
He wondered why Rock would think he would like it, (which he did) and asked as such. 

“O-Oh… It’s the color of your eyes so…”

Oh.  
“...Well, uh, thanks. It’s getting colder so…” he stuffed the scarf into his bag.

“It is, isn’t it? Almost winter…” Rock shivered, “In fact, I probably should have worn a warmer coat..”

“...” Bass pulled him close by putting an arm around his side. Rock stiffened up at the sudden contact and warmth.

“A-ah! B-but Bass-”

“I don’t give a shit who sees us. Unless it’s Wily.”

“W-well…” he swallowed, “A-alright then… Oh!” Rock jolted up a bit. “Did you hear the news?”

“Hm? What news?”

“About X and Zero.”

He scoffed. “No. He hardly bothered to call, not that I blame him. Wily usually picks up the phone and…”

“Yeah… I know.” Rock’s expression saddened. “I still can’t believe he kicked Zero out when he found out… it’s just so…”

 

“Well…” he sighed. “Let’s move on. They certainly have. I doubt Zero gives two shits about what Wily thinks on a day-to-day basis. Anyways, what is it about them?”

“Oh! T-they’re getting married!”

“...What?”

“Yeah, I know… I was surprised too…”

“Married? Here?” He scowled. “That doesn’t sound right.”

“Well no, X says they are working on going to a student exchange program in America.”

“Ah,” Bass clicked his tongue, “I see.” Americans… Too affectionate, too huggy, too casual from what he had seen on TV. Why would anyone want to stay there? He wondered, besides the obvious. 

"I'm really happy for them. They always looked so happy together. It seems only natural at this point, they would get married right?"

" I guess."

"But, sometimes it feels weird…” Rock suddenly spoke up, filling the air. 

“Ha? What does?”

“Well, we’re as old as they were when they got together. Now X is going to be a school counselor and Zero is working on being a personal trainer...Where did all the time go?”

Bass shrugged. He wished he could say more than just that but he was never the type to think about things like that. He supposed Rock had a point, but…

“I don’t know, feels like time has been passing to me,” he said. 

“I guess... I’m kinda anxious about the future.”

“Eh? Why?” His grades were good, almost to the top, just below top 10. so why would he be worried? Of all people? 

“Well, it’s like… I’m not sure what I want to be. I’m just worried I’ll realize what it is too late…”

“Too late? We still have two more years to worry about that. Plus the rest of your life. I don’t know what I want to do either. It’s not like you’re alone on that. “ That was true. What the fuck was he going to do when he becomes an adult? Who knows, he shouldn't even be in high school. He should be training on how to make the best goddamn ramen in town instead. He's not going to amount to much more than that. 

Rock sighed, his expression gloomy. “ I guess… But everyone else knows what they want to be. Roll wants to be a chef, Ice wants to join the military and Cut… I’m not sure exactly. Something about proving himself?”

“Quit comparing yourself to everyone else,” Bass spoke sharply. Rock flinched and met his gaze.

“You aren’t Cut, Roll, or Ice. Quit comparing yourself to them. So what if you don’t know what you want to do? Do you think your dad woke up knowing what he would want to do for the rest of his life? Do you think none of them have ever changed their minds? What if they go to school and change their minds to something else? I know that Ice guy will. He’s kidding himself if he thinks he can join the military.” He thought about how short and small the boy was. Military… He wasn’t going to intimidate anyone. They would probably do what Roll does and pinch at his cheeks while saying:

“You’re so cute Icey~!” 

Then his face would burn like a roaring bonfire. 

Rock smiled a bit.

“That’s kinda mean but… Thank you, Bass.”

His face flushed with heat.

“W-whatever. I was just… you know…” He stammered as he stood up, “Oi, how about we go inside already? I’m starting to feel this damn cold.” he shivered. 

“Oh! That’s right!” Rock grasped his hand and tugged, “Roll will be done making dinner soon! We better get a move on!”

“What is she making tonight?”

“Dunno- it’s always a surprise these days.”

Their conversation trailed off into the cool wind as they traveled the same way home as both of their brothers had all that time ago.

Rock almost said that this felt like a dream being with Bass. He could have never dreamed things would end up this happy… And Not just for him. His brother X now engaged. He said over the phone that Zero had nearly fainted when he proposed.

He giggled. He could imagine that...

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing... Do you think we’ll ever get married?”

Bass’s face flushed as red as the scarf, “H-huh?! Why are you asking that?! We’ve only been together for a month you idiot!” he yanked his hand away and smacked his shoulder. It didn't hurt any.

Rock couldn’t help it, Bass was way too cute sometimes. He giggled as he said, “If I’m an idiot I guess you don’t get any dinner at my house tonight…”

“Hey! You wouldn’t-”

“But I guess I’ll forget it if I get a kiss right here.” he pointed to his cheek. Bass stared daggers at him and Rock smiled innocently as he could.

“Fine!” he snapped and gave a quick peck. “Happy now?”

“Mm-hmm!” Rock grasped his hand again. “Now let’s go!”

“You're lucky this street is abandoned, or else I would have killed you,” he grumbled. 

“I know… Bass?"

"What?"

"I love you."

Bass made a few faces, it's like he wasn't sure to be happy, confused, or angry.

"Horrible decision really…" he eventually grumbled.

"I don't think so! If it was a bad decision, I wouldn't be so happy around you!" He chirped 

“...” Bass seemed to think about it for a moment.  
"I guess I feel the same way.. happy that is…" he said quietly.

"Really?"  
"Y-yeah. Quit smiling like that. You're starting to freak me out."

"You're supposed to smile when you're happy aren't You?"

"You're smiling all the time though!"  
"That's because I'm always happy when I'm with you!"  
"Tsk… You're going to be the death of me someday. My heart isn't supposed to be beating so fast dammit…"

"That means I make you happy too!"  
"...like you too I guess…" he murmured.

"Hm?"  
"Shut it! I didn't say anything!"

Rock wished he could be this happy forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all intensive purposes, this story is d-o-n-e! Thank you very much everyone who stuck through! I never dreamed this being my most read story! Then again I wasn't imaginign this being over 50,000 words;;; wish I could say this is my first fanfiction to get this many reads but I'm afraid my tails doll fanfic from 2015 takes the cake...  
> Anyways, stick around for the bonuses if you want! Maybe one day I'll write a sequel... But that won't be anytime soon;;;


	17. BONUS!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BONUS!!! WHOOO!!!

**Chapter 5**

 

“Man Wily’s such a dick! I can’t believe he gave you detention when you were the only one not doing anything! What a fart wad!”  
“Yeah, yeah fartwad…” Rock muttered disinterestedly as his eyes scanned the classroom. Bass was just here, but as soon as the bell rang for lunch he disappeared.   
“Why do you have so much for lunch?” Ice suddenly asked.  
Rock looked down in his hands. He did have a lot of snacks and a few too many sodas. His lunch bag barely contained it all.  
“Yeah, you wouldn’t tell me why you were packing so much last night…” Roll frowned, “Is everything alright?”  
“Yeah, it’s just, I wanted to… “ he was already cringing at what their reaction would be, “...invite Bass to lunch.”  
They all groaned, “really Rock? You invite him to the beach and then to our lunch table? How many of our sacred sites will you massacre with his presence?!” Cut yelled.  
“What?” Rock was lost.  
“Just ignore him.” Ice rolled his eyes, “It’s at least better than his puns.”  
“Hey! I’m trying to come up with new material!”  
“Oh, is that why you haven’t been making a lot of puns lately?” Roll asked.  
“Yeah, it’s gotten pretty *dull*- HEY! Where are you going?!”   
Rock had one foot out the door when Cut yelled this out, he peered at him innocently, “Going to find Bass.”

“Why don’t you just give it up Rock?!” ROll yelled in frustration.  
“It’s ‘cause he’s got a hard-on for bass.”  
Rock’s eyes nearly popped out his head and paled, Roll slammed her fist on the table and looked at Cut with a dark expression. “Don’t even joke about that.”  
“S-sorry…”

Rock left. He was right. Roll wouldn’t ever get it. None of them seem to understand a bit. There's more to him than what meets the eye you know… He saw it on the day of that sunset.  
Ah, there’s Quick! Maybe he knows where Bass is!

“Hey Quick!”  
“Yo, Rock!” Quick was a boy the same age as Rock, with bright red hair and two blonde streaks in the shape of a V. He was always taller than everyone else, and had long skinny legs that let him run faster than anyone else in the grade- earning him his nickname. Quick used to hate Rock after he accidentally called him by his real name “Quinton” (which he despises). But eventually got over it after a few bumps in the noggin’ in a fight- accidental bumps!  
“How’s it been, man?”  
“It has been good. Quick question, heh, do you know where Bass hangs out at during lunch?”  
“Oh yeah, before he dumped us for some fuckin’ reason, he used to hang out this one river… Fuck what was it called? Oi, HEAT!”  
“Whaddya want?” Heat was much shorter than Quick and came up to his elbows. He had orange-red hair under a bright yellow hardhat he always wore. It was big on his head and sometimes his friends would slam it on his head and cover up his eyes so he couldn’t see.

Unlike Cut and Ice and their brothers, Heat and Quick and the rest of their “brothers” weren’t blood-related. Speaking of Ice and Cut, it confused Rock for the longest time how Cut and Ice and how all of their brothers looked so different but were still related. The only answers he got in response was:  
“Mom had a very active social life.”

Whatever that meant.

From what he heard, Quick and the rest of his “family” caused a lot of chaos in the city; and frequently tagged things and graffitied them with their sign- #2. If that were true, Rock wouldn’t know. He didn’t go into Abel City very often. 

While Rock was spending too much time up in his head, Quick and Heat had a full-blown argument about the name of the river Bass liked to visit during lunch.  
“Kohaku!” Quick protested.  
“The kanji reads Kohakuriyo!”  
“Kanji, shmanji, the hiragana says KO-HA-KU!”  
“I-I know what you’re talking about, I’ll be going there now.” Rock interrupted, they both looked at him and forgot about their stupid fight.  
“Good luck with the fight then!” Heat exclaimed.  
“Fight?”  
“Why else would you want to talk with Bass?” Quick questioned. Rock sighed and was suddenly reminded about how Quick had attacked Bass.  
“By the way, Bass said you attacked him and gave him a black eye. Why’d you do that?”  
Quick frowned, “He said that? I never did that!”  
“Seriously?! You aren’t lying right?!”  
“Heat, back me up on this.”  
Heat nodded, “He ain’t lying.”  
“...Why would he say you did then…?”   
Heat and Quick looked at each other. “Well…” Quick looked around, “You didn’t hear it from me but… I think some of those injuries aren’t from fights… I think Wily has been giving him some of them.”  
“Y-you don’t mean…”  
Heat backed Quick up again, “We do mean. He’d have bunches of random injuries on his arms and legs, and we used to hang out after school every day until we almost missed the train back. He hated going back home.”  
Quick nodded, “Mm-hmm. There was no way he got those from fights. Either he was clumsy when he wasn’t around us, or it was from someone back home.”  
“But like we said-”  
“You didn’t hear it from us.” Quick finished. “We better get going now so, good luck.”  
They both rushed off.

“...”  
….They weren’t saying Bass was being abused were they?  
He hoped not.  
He would have to look into it. Maybe ask X to bring it up to Zero, and pick up a book on the signs of abuse.  
Something like that. Sure, Bass was aggressive but his aggressiveness… That wasn't because of Wily… hitting him right? Or was he thinking about this too naively? Wily hate him because he hates Light because of their past, what if… he had imprints that same hate onto Bass?  
That would explain a lot.

He turned a corner, and the object of his thoughts was standing right there.  
“Get the fuck out of my way.”  
He was about to, but remembered his goal- and planted his feet firmly to the ground.  
“Bass!”  
“What?” He snapped, “what the fuck do you want?”  
“Um… I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable-” Bass’s eye twitched, “I want to make it up to you. Please eat lunch with me!”  
Bass stood still for several seconds, with only a hard expression.  
‘...You are stupid.”  
“Huh?”  
“I’m not upset about that.”  
“..You aren’t?”  
“No. “  
“...Then why didn’t you come back to school? Why’d you hit me?” Rock cautiously asked.  
“Cause I didn’t feel like going. Why do you care?”  
“...” He didn’t answer why he hit him.  
“Nevermind. I forgot you were stupid, caring about things that don’t matter.”  
Ouch. Rock had only a second to register what he just said before he moved on.  
“You have food?”  
Rock nodded.  
“...Fine. I’ll eat with you. But I refuse to eat with those friends of yours.”  
“Why?”  
“It’s clear they don’t want me there.”  
“...” Rock couldn’t deny that.

“Follow me.”  
Bass led him up the long hallway, steps clicking under their feet, until they reached a door with a sign that read:  
“立入禁止。 近づくな！”  
“Er… Bass?”  
“What?” He was already opening the door.  
“W-we aren’t allowed on the roof-”  
“Aw shaddup. I go up here all the time.”  
“Quick and Heat said you went by-”  
“They know dick about me.” he snapped, “Quit acting like a sissy.”  
“...”  
Rock followed him up on the roof. The chainlink fence surrounded them, and with no benches or places to sit they were forced to sit on the ground. Rock didn't mind that much, and neither did Bass. Especially after he handed him several snacks and a can of grape soda.  
“Huh. How’d you know grapes my favorite?”  
Rock made a mental note. “I didn’t.”  
“...Huh.” He opened the can with a nice fizzy sound and took a big slurp, then stuffed his face with the food Rock handed to him. Rock stared out into the distance and nibbled on his food. The taste lingering in his mouth as he stared into the distant skyline.  
“Have you ever been to the city?” Rock asked Bass. He was staring out into the skyline.  
Their eyes met.

“...No,” Bass said.  
“Why not?”  
“I don’t have the money you twit.”

'Twit? Well, that was a new one.' Rock thought to himself.

“I never go into the city either. I haven’t been there in over a year now.” Rock lamented, “Hey, would you want to go together sometime?”  
“What makes you think I want to go into the city? Let alone with you? “  
“Er… “ Rock tried to think of his words carefully but Bass just sighed before he had the chance,   
“You’re so stupid. The fuck is about me that makes you want to be friends so bad?”  
“...You would think it’s stupid.” Rock said with a forlorn expression.  
“I already think you’re a fucking idiot. There isn’t much you can do to help that.”

Oh.

“...Well... “ Rock started, “There’s this picture from a long time ago… and you’re in it. It makes me think at one point we used to be friends.”  
Rock carefully watched Bass’s expression, and eyes narrowed as if he were thinking, and his jaw slightly clenched, along with his fists. That slightly worried him.  
“...So…”  
“...I remember that.” Rock’s eyes lit up, while Bass’s remained hardened and unchanged,   
“You do?” He sounded hopeful.  
“I was hoping you forgot.”  
“Oh… Why?”  
“Because I don’t want to be friends with you.” He said very bluntly.  
“...But why?”  
“None of your business.”  
Rock sighed and was beginning to grow a little bit frustrated. It was beginning to feel like whenever he made progress bass would go back to his stubborn ways and to whatever it was like before. Then...   
Click.  
He had an idea X would have been proud of.   
“How about we call a truce?"  
Bass looked at him oddly, “The fuck you men by truce?”  
“Well… We don’t exactly have to be friends, but I could bring you lunch every day and we could be… Civil?”  
Bass seemed to think about this, with his ruby-red eyes narrowed, eventually, he said,  
“fine.”

 

**Notes: The next scene connects to this one, but the rooftop scene ends differently.**

 

“Then… Why do you hate me?”  
“I don’t fucking hate you!”

He froze like a deer in headlights, and an expression of what seemed to be fear flashed across his face as he was suddenly thrust up out of where he was sitting and was shoved harshly against the chain-link fence. The cold metal dug into his back and Rock let out a sharp cry in pain.

“Don’t. Fucking. Talk to me. Again.” Bass hissed out and dropped Rock to the ground.  
He took his food with him on the way out.

 

A week had passed since then. Rock has replayed the moment in his head over and over and comes out just as confused as he did when he started. He can still feel the cold fence pressed into his back and the heat of Bass’s eyes bearing into his soul.  
Talking it over with X didn’t seem to help. While he wasn’t confused about what happened, he was very disappointed it hadn’t gone better, until Rock brought up the conversation he had with Quick and Heat. His eyes sparkled as he always did when he was thinking, he placed a hand under his chin and mumbled something to Rock, before handing him a book he reportedly received from Dr. Coassak for his birthday one year.

“Walking On Eggshells: Navigating the signs of parental abuse and neglect”

“Why would Cossak give you this?”  
X shrugged. “He thought I would find it interesting. I’ll have to talk to Zero about it. In the meantime, I would recommend reading that. It’s…” he sucked the air between his teeth, “...Interesting.”

Near the end of the book, there was a section that read: “if you suspect that someone you know is being abused, here are some red flags to watch out for:”

-Withdrawal from friends or usual activities.  
He’s been avoiding Quick and his brothers so probably could check that one-off.

 

-Changes in behavior — such as aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity — or changes in school performance.  
He’s always been aggressive, hasn’t he? So it isn’t a “change” in behavior… so… maybe?

 

-Depression, anxiety or unusual fears, or a sudden loss of self-confidence.  
Probably not, no.

 

-An apparent lack of supervision.  
Definitely.

 

-Frequent absences from school  
Again, definitely.

 

-Reluctance to leave school activities, as if he or she doesn't want to go home  
Quick or Heat mentioned something offhandedly about that, didn’t they? Could check that one-off.

 

-Attempts at running away  
Not sure about that one, but Rock could imagine that.

 

-Rebellious or defiant behavior  
Have they met Bass?

 

-Self-harm or attempts at suicide  
No, at least, noting he has ever heard of. Bass didn't seem the type...

Tallying the final results, he could check off 5 out of 9. That was fairly worrying if the book were to be believed. If he counted the possibilities as well he could count 7 out of 9. Then there were only 2 he could count off for sure.   
But there was no way- right? X had asked Zero about it and all he got was:

“No way. I mean, Wily is a piece of shit yeah, he encouraged Bass to pick fights, yeah, but I’ve never seen him… hit Bass. Bass would hit him before that happened.”

And he did have a point. He’s heard his rants about Wily before and he’d seem the type to punch Wily in his nose if he were to try something. It just didn’t add up. Why would Quick and Heat think that there was something fishy going on and not Zero? Zero lived with him, so you would think that he would be the expert- but he seemed to be the most unconcerned out of them all.

 

**Notes: I kinda regret not having the rooftop scene, I would like to say I tried to fit it in but I probably didn't try very hard;;; I was going to dive deeper into Bass and his relationship with Wily, however, I got cold feet at the last minute, saying I wasn't ready for it to get *that* dark. Do I regret it? kinda... But, oh well, learn from mistakes. The only way to get better is to write, and I did write 60,000 words somehow... One of the reasons I got cold feet as I don't believe Wily is a bad person. He's just a tired old man. Although I don't write him that way... He's kinda verbally abusive. Well, Zero and Bass don't pay him any mind so I suppose they're fine.**

 

**Chapter 5**

Things have been going great for Rock, Bass showed up the day after, seemingly normal and hadn’t even brought up the incident at the beach, something Rock was thankful for.

Cut was upset and outspoken but sharing their “sacred table space” with Bass (something he never said around him) but eventually got over it. Roll seemed to be wary of him and shot him dirty glances whenever she thought Rock wasn’t looking, and Ice seemed to just be nervous, but that wasn’t different than usual. He was always nervous around Roll.

X was proud of him for the progress that had made and advised him to invite him to a place where they could spend time and be alone, allowing one and one time and for their relationship to develop. But also a place with people, so he wouldn’t be tempted to punch his lights out if something went wrong.

While Rock was chewing on that, X was helping out his boyfriend- he often felt giddy thinking about him, but now wasn’t the time. He was a hot mess...  
Iris was eating at him, and his appearance was reflecting that. He’d show up to school with dark bags under his eyes and his hair in tats and a complete mess. X was starting to make a habit of bringing Roll’s brush with him to school so he could brush his hair at least a little bit before the first period started. Zero at first protested, claiming that this will just perpetuate the thoughts of them being gay- but X didn’t think it mattered considering how it was true. If anyone had a problem with it, he would respond by handing them the hairbrush and ask if they wanted to try.   
So, he relented. While Alia and the gaggle of girls watched and whispered as their morning ritual commenced, X was being as gentle as he could to brush through the forever tangled locks. Occasionally Zero hissed in pain, it was inevitable. 

One day though, X opened the door and stepped inside, to be met with something dropping on his head, and a cloud of white dust surrounding him. Some had gotten in his mouth, and his senses were greeted to a thick and chalky taste and he gagged.

It was when Zero helped him out and smoothed out his hair he realized what happened. Someone had trapped a chalkboard eraser through the small crack of the door, and it had dropped down on his head.

Zero clenched his knuckles until they were pale and pasty white and glared at who was behind him.

Vile.

His helmet shined in the light of the sun from the window behind him. X knew how he looked under that helmet, but he knew that most of his gang and most of the school hadn’t. He rarely ever didn’t have the stupid thing on. X was surprised, he couldn't remember the last time Vile was on time for school.

“Very mature of you Vile. I wasn’t aware you finally graduated from kindergarten.”  
“I wasn’t aware they let faggots like you in this school.”

X cringed, mostly because of the not-so-subtle response, and how ready Zero looked he was going to murder him.  
“Zero, cool it. He’s not worth it.  
“Yeah Zero, listen to your boyfriend.”  
Didn’t Vile understand he was saying that for his sake as well?! Did he want Zero to lunge at him?! X thought about kissing Zero right in front of Vile to shut him up, but refrained. Zero wanted to protect him from Vile- so he went along with it. So sweet of him… it wasn’t as if X cared who knew anyways.

“Vile…”  
The bell rang, and they glared at each other one last time before sitting down.

However, the cycle form the past week repeated as soon as Iris entered the room, Zero hunched over his desk, and shuddered, tightly gripping his pencil in his fist.  
X knew he wasn’t the only one to realize how he would act around her- Iris seemed to realize this herself. Judging by how she was giving him a concerned glance. Others were aware of this, Alia was separating her desks from Palette and Layer she was giving a few lasting whispers while looking at Zero.  
Zero really needed to talk to Iris.

Axl was late for lunch, but that was fine. X sat in comfortable silence, cross-legged on the ground. To his surprise, Zero laid his head across his lap. X grasped his wooden chopsticks and picked up a piece of fried mackerel, prodding the piece against Zero's lips. Silently, he ate it. 

 

The silence was broken by Axl’s obnoxious singing as he came up the stairs,

”*あなたの声～　あなたの顔～　あなたの体～ 全部ひらいて見せて～ ひとつになる　クリスタル・パワー セーラームーン～～～！！！”

**(translation: Your voice,~ your face~ your body~ All show me that you-need-help. With my crystal power, I turn into the one and only- Sa-lor~ mo-on~~~!!!)**

Huh. X hadn’t pinpointed Axl as a Sailor Moon fan, but, whatever. Axl stopped singing at the sight of X feeding Zero as his head rested on his lap. He chortled into his fist and snickered. 

“That is the gayest thing I've ever seen. “  
Zero had no reaction, which concerned X just a bit, but he understood why. Axl was panic-stricken and looked as if the world was ending.   
“Uh, X? D-did something happen to Z-zero?”  
“You mean, besides Iris?”  
“...” Zero didn’t even move. Doubly concerning.

“Zero, you need to talk to her already,” Axl said what X was already thinking.  
He grumbled, “No way.”  
“Come on already! This is killing you!”  
“Then I’d rather die” Zero mumbled.  
“Don’t say that, if you died I would miss you,” X said softly. Zero was silent after that and Axl snorted,   
“Gay.”  
“I’d say that even if we weren’t dating,” X answered truthfully.   
“So…. I’ve been wondering something, you’re gay right X?”  
He nodded, “That’s right.”  
“What about you Zero? I mean, you dated a girl, so like, you gay or bi?”  
“Don’t know, don’t care.”   
“He says as he lays in a guys lap.”  
“I just don’t care enough right now.”

There was a knock on the door to the roof, and they all stared as the metal door, green paint chipped away with age, creaked open and a timid voice called out.  
“Excuse me? “

Green eyes, brown hair.  
Green eyes. Brown hair.  
Green eyes.  
Brown hair.

Zero quickly got up from X’s lap.  
“Zero?”  
He swallowed.  
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”  
“...” He got up. X watched as he walked over to her, and the door shut with a clank.

He hoped for his sake, it went well.

 

To say Zero was nervous would be an understatement. It was hell being in the same room with her, but walking behind her made every long blonde strand of hair stand upright on his head, his arms covered in goosebumps.   
She stopped, spun on her heel and faced him.   
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it Zero?”  
“....” he nodded.   
“It’s nice seeing you again. I was actually… hoping to see you again. “ she blushed.   
“.....” what did she mean by that?  
“I just wanted to say, that I forgive you. “  
She took note of Zero’s stunned expression and continued, “It wasn’t just your fault what happened. My brother shouldn’t have had pushed you so far... And I decided to fight you. You don’t need to feel guilty anymore. It’s okay.”  
“...” He stared.   
“...Are you crying?”  
“...” was he? He wiped at his face, it felt wet. He was.   
Fuck.

He mumbled an apology, although he was mostly apologizing for how embarrassed he felt. It was one thing to cry in his room after a bad day, it was another to cry in front of someone.  
“It’s okay. You don’t need to feel embarrassed.”  
She gently dabbed at his face with a flower embroidered handkerchief.  
“I-if it’s okay with you, I-I’d like to be friends again. We don’t need to…” she put the handkerchief back into her pocket, and she fiddled with her thumbs as she talked, “You know… But I honestly missed you. I had a hard time making friends in the city… and you were always there to listen. I love my brother but sometimes he can be a bit… much…” she exhaled.

Before he could think about it, he said, “Okay.”  
She perked up, relaxing her hands to by her sides “You mean it?”  
“Yeah.”  
“ Er...then…” she averted her gaze, “Can I sit with you guys during lunch then? I don’t have anyone else to eat with yet…”  
“If you don’t mind it being a sausage fest.” Zero didn’t see any a  
She let out a bubbly giggle, “From what I remember X was sweet so I don’t think I’ll have to worry about him. I don’t know who that other guy was though.”  
“Oh, Axl? Yeah, he moved in a couple of years after you moved out. He's a bit of a handful, and he’s childish, but he means well.” after a second thought he added, “Don’t pay any attention to him if he makes any jokes about me and X being gay.”  
She giggled again, although it sounded a lot less humorous, “I can’t imagine you and X… You’re just too good of friends.” He wasn’t going to lie, that kind of hurt. “I bet you already have a girlfriend, though. “  
“I don’t.”  
“You don’t?”  
He shook his head, and his hair swished around behind him, it was technically the truth.  
“No.”  
“I see. Ack!” she suddenly bleated, “Lunch is almost over! I-I’m so sorry for taking up so much of your time!”  
“It’s fine.”  
“Well, I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow?”  
“Sure.”

He stood there, even after she walked away, and the bell rung, and until his legs gave out under him.  
The guilt, that was weighing down on him all this time was finally released. It felt so good, so blissful, so relieving- like spending a long time outside on a hot day, and then stepping inside an air-conditioned home.

 

He woke up hours later, feeling more refreshed he had in decades.   
Well, a decade and a half, anyways.  
But where was he?  
He looked around. Mega Rock Man, the blue superhero looked at him beefy and crosseyed and with a thumbs up and a grin.  
X’s room.   
He made a note to tell him to take the poster down and laid perfectly still in his blue bedsheets.  
Nice and warm and…  
He looked around quickly, making sure nobody was around and sunk into the bed, taking a quick whiff of the sheets.  
They smelled of X. He had a hard time describing what X smelled like. It was slightly fruity, slightly flowery, and mostly spicy, like cinnamon, or cloves. It was comforting, and the sweet warm blanket and X’s scent was starting to make him drowsy again, although he’d been sleeping for hours, judging by the outside. It was sunset, and the sky was light with reds and oranges and the worlds and houses were shaded black and silhouetted against the sun.  
The white door to X’s room flung open, and X came in, holding armfuls of one of the school uniforms and what seemed to be one of Zero’s old T-shirts against his chest. He smiled warmly at him.  
“You’re up! I was starting to get worried. You wouldn’t ever wake up." he chuckled.   
“What happened?” Zero sat up, and groaned, clutching his head and laid back down. Bad idea, his head started throbbing like it was being hit by a basketball over and over.  
“I was going to ask you that. Someone found you passed out in the hallway and I offered to bring you home.”  
“...” Zero would have to think about it when his head didn’t hurt so fucking much.  
“I brought you a change of clothes, I figured you would want to spend the night.” So it was one of his old T-shirts, as revealed when he opened his arms. He got the shirt at a thrift store a few years ago, and the once vibrant-red color was dulled out and had a tinge of grey. The graphic design, a piece of pizza, was cracked in several places and one of the pepperoni slices was completely gone. He usually wore it as a sleep shirt.

“How’d you get Wily to let you in?”  
“He didn’t,” X explained, “Bass got me these.”  
Zero couldn’t believe his ears. “Bass?”  
“Yes.”  
“Bass did that?”  
“He did. “  
“Seriously?”  
“Yes.”  
“...How’d you get him to do that?”  
“I just asked him for some, he went back inside, shoved them into my arms, and told me to go... screw myself. “ His face contorted a bit and he winced. It was slightly endearing.   
“Sounds like him, but also doesn’t sound like him.”   
“He also told me to tell Rock to quit being so annoying, if that helps.” X had a slight smile on his face, and his eyes had that familiar mysterious twinkle.

**Endnotes: I re-wrote the Iris & Zero scene over a few times. I don't remember why this one didn't work out, but I believe the one that we got is better. Even if it doesn't have a crying Zero.**

 

**Side story**

 

***warning, making out, pretend they aren't 13 to make it less weird***

“B-bass what are-”  
“I warned you! I fucking warned you what would happen! And now you have nobody to blame but yourself!”

Rock squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to be hit square in the face and the familiar sting and swell.

But that isn’t what happened. There was something warm on his lips, and something brushed against his forehead.  
He opened his eyes, and, no way, Bass was… actually

Kissing him??!! Him?!?!

Rock tried to enjoy what was happening, his heart hummed so happily, and swelled up with all the desire he’s had since he’s realized his crush. But his confusion ran rampant in his mind, they clashed and so Rock was left stunned and defenseless as Bass continued to kiss him. His hand brushed by his side and Bass gave his butt a firm squeeze. Rock gasped, and his tongue slipped inside his mouth. His brain further screamed out with confusion, and his heart screamed out against it. Close your eyes, it said. Enjoy it, let it happen.  
He did. His instincts took hold of him, and he fluttered his eyes close, Bass tasted vaguely sweet as it dawned on Rock that his very first kiss was an open-mouthed, but it sent shivers down his spine and new feelings burst forth, nothing that he had ever, ever, ever felt in his 13 years of life. 

They parted, Bass smirked as trail saliva kept them connected, glistening. Rock took a few deep breaths, mind still dazed, as he stared into Bass’s rubies, his face flushed a delicious shade of red.

“There. How do you fucking like that? I stole your first kiss didn’t I?” His smirk grew, “I fucking warned you. “  
“A...a….”  
“At a loss for words? Go ahead. Spit it out.”  
“...Again.”

He obliged. This time, just a tad more gentle, Rock wondered how he was doing this, sending sparks and tingles up his spine, and making his heart nearly burst with affection.

Once they had to part again, Rock burrowed his face into Bass’s neck, craving more touch, to be as close to him as possible. Bass snaked his arms around his back, letting him drink his warmth. It was a hug, technically, but it felt more than that.

“I love you, Bass.” Rock breathed out  
“I figured you would say something mushy like that. But…” He took a finger and titled Rock’s face up at him, smirking cheekily as Rock blushed, “This time it’s alright.”

None of them said anything else as Bass held Rock in his arms. They had already said enough.

**Endnotes: Not a scene I was ever intending on publishing. Just something I wrote at midnight when I was suddenly struck by the thought as I was trying to sleep. I typed in fervor and sent it to my bf. Many a’ typo fixed when the morning bloomed. The gist of his response was "hot. The passion!"**

 

**Side story**

 

“What kind of music is the best?”

X blinked, considering the question- his mind went off into hyperdrive, zipping into a hundred different directions. Zero was a simple man, and instead said bluntly,  
“There isn’t one. It’s a personal preference. “  
“Well…” Axl explained, “an art film is considered to be better than some dumb superhero flick right? So like, what kind of music is the best?”  
“Classical.” X snapped out of his trance.   
“Figured,” Axl groaned, “classical is boring, it makes me fall asleep.”  
“I like classical music. “ X sounded a bit hurt so Zero thought the best course of action was to pat his head, which X appreciated. Axl gave them a strange look and got over it, rolling his eyes and looking away. X held onto his sleeve and buried his face into the side of his arm. Zero had to try very hard to keep a neutral expression. Internally though, he wanted to do things that went above kisses. 

“I’m tired Z…”  
“Hm.”   
“What’s your favorite kind of music?”  
Zero stared at Axl.   
“....Rock. “  
“Just rock?"  
“...classic rock. “  
“Huh.” There was a pause. Zero thought to ask:  
“...What’s yours? Let me guess- heavy metal?”  
Axl crossed his arms triumphantly. “You’ll never figure it out. “ he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a pair of old wireless headphones- that Zero snatched from his hands.  
“H-hey! Wait! まーまてよ！”  
And puts them on. 

KIRA KIRA KILLER  
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY  
HIRA HIRA HOUDA!  
LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!  
SORE, SORE, IMA!   
KIRA, KIRA, KILLA!  
COMING NOW!

“...” they both stared at each other.   
“J-pop?”  
“....yeah.”  
“....huh. “

They never spoke of this again. 

 

Endnotes: I was planning a bunch of side stories (when this was going to be a series of one-shots until I realized that was fucking retarded as hell) The second one would have been Axl messing with Alia's weird-ass science club. Too bad I never got around to writing it. Fun fact: turns out the cat was pregnant before they found it and instead of cat-dog mutants they have a bunch of fluffy kittens. They weren't upset for very long. Except for Lumine...

Chapter 14

They stared at each other once they pulled away.

"...Zero..."  
"Y-yeah?"  
"Why did you invite me to the bridge?"  
"...I... it was probably going to be stupid... But I was going to give you this..."

Zero reached for something in his pocket. His fingers curled around something. He stood up, and X stood with him. 

He handed him a small box.

X looked at it with curiosity and opened it.  
Inside was a small leather necklace with a red gem in the middle.   
"Oh..."  
"I-I borrowed some money from Alia... I-I need to get a new job..." he stuttered and his face flushed red, "I know you aren't... A girl... But I couldn't help but think of you when I saw it-"

X kissed him again. 

 

**Endnotes: I was going to include this, but I felt it was weird? And tacked on? Idk. I think the chapter was fine without it, so... It's here instead.**

 

**Chapter 15**

“You know… I just realized I never told you why I wanted to be friends with Bass.”  
He paused. Cut was silent, out of character for him but he persevered on and stared ahead.   
“It’s because… Well, I have this photo from a long time ago. It was when we were younger… and you know, we weren't fighting. It made me think that there was a chance of being like that again, you know? And well... “

He sighed.

“I think we’re friends now… But I wonder… How long can I be just friends for? I… Y-you know like him. More than just a friend. His hair is amazing, and his eyes…” he blushed, “I must sound like a girl, haha…” he chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head.   
“I don’t know how long I’ll be able to wait… Or how long I should wait. X tells me that I shouldn’t wait too long… But how long is too long?”

He sighed.

“I bet I’m not making any sense. I mean, you’ve never had a crush before have you-”  
He turned to look at Cut.

His eyes widened and nearly popped out of his head.

His heart dropped to his feet.

His jaw dropped. 

His throat tightened.

 

Bass stared at him with a pink face and narrowed red eyes. 

“...”  
“Y-you…”

Rock stuttered, his chest tightened up and he can feel his face flushing brighter and brighter. Oh no Oh no-no-no. Dammit Cut! You planned this from the start, didn’t you?!  
His arms broke into goosebumps, he swallowed

“...You aren’t yanking my chain are you?” Bass asked.

“W-what?”  
“It would make sense. I made your life a living hell a few times, you build me up and make me believe you’re my friend, then make me think you’re…”  
He swallowed.  
“...Crushing on me. Then you backstab me and move on.”

“Bass, w-why would I do that?”

“Because it doesn’t make any sense. Why me? I thought Quick and his stupid gang liked me, only to be thrown by the wayside and get socked in the face. Zero doesn’t like me, but then again he doesn’t have much to reason too. Wily doesn’t like me because I don't like him.”  
He stared at Rock.

“So why would you?” 

“B-because…” Rock’s face flushed red. “There's more to you than just the guy who yells and likes to pick fights…”

“Really? Because I don’t see it.”

“...Well, I do.” 

Bass stared at him for a long moment. Rock felt he was ready to explode from all the jitters he was feeling.

Then he sighed.

And leaned in very, very close. Roc stiffened up as his ruby-red eyes bored into the blue of Rock’s eyes. His breath tickled against his face and his heart drummed in his chest.

“...You are an idiot.”  
“Wh-”  
Bass cut him off and closed the distance. 

 

“W-what the??! What??!?!”   
Icey’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Cut looked pale and shook as he pointed at the pair from their hiding spot.

“D-did he just…”  
“He did.”  
“...He kissed him.”  
Roll looked down at her feet.  
“...I think we might have been wrong. “

“That’s what I've Been trying to say all this time! But no, none of you would listen to a word I say!” Ice hmph and crossed his arms in anger.

“Oh man… I need to go and apologize. “ Roll buried her face into her hands.  
“I-it’s not your fault!” Ice tried to comfort her and awkwardly patted her back. “You were just trying to protect him! You were being a good sister!”

“A good sister would’ve tried to support him!”

 

Both Bass and Rock’s face flushed a bright shade of red. They turned away as they sat next to each other. Rock fiddled his thumbs. After a moment Bass buried his face into his hands.

“Goddammit.”  
“H-hm?”  
“...That felt better than what I was expecting… Fuck. I’m gay aren’t I…?”  
“What’s wrong with being gay?” Rock asked naively.  
“...Wily’s going to be pissed. Zero told WIly about him and X. He was going to blow his top off…”

“...You shouldn’t care about what he thinks… I-I mean… you don’t have to be… i-in a relationship with me-”  
“Shut up.”

Bass grabbed his hands and pulled him until their legs touched.

“I don’t what he thinks… At least… not really…I just don’t want to deal with his bullshit…”  
“I think you do care.  
“...” Bass Sighed. “Yeah, probably. I stopped being friends because he told me not to…”

“Is that why-”  
“Yeah.” bass interrupted. “It’s just…” he sighed. “All the time he would tell me how Zero was a piece of shit, Zero is a failure, Zero, Zero that… He told me I could be better than that.” Bass confessed.  
“I hated him. Still, do. But you know… there were still parts of me that wanted to make him proud.

“Yet, here I am. I just kissed you. I’m a mess…” He groaned.

“I’m here for you Bass,” Rock said.

“...” his face flushed. “W-well I didn’t ask you!”  
“No, but I want to,” Rock said honestly.

Bass looked at Rock’s face. His adorable brown hair and crystal clear blue eyes.  
“...Goddammit, I’m fucking gay. Ughhh…” He moaned and slumped down.

“...So… You… L-like me?”

Bass deadpanned.

“What do you fucking think?”  
“Y-y-yes?”  
Bass rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t kiss you for my health.”  
“...Oh yeah…” He blushed bright red again.

“...” Bass pulled him closer. Wrapping one arm around his shoulders. Rock stifled, but didn’t pull away and eventually relaxed and snuggled his head onto his shoulder.

“...No wonder you like this so much. It feels… Nice. I guess…”  
“It does.”  
“...I’m sorry.”  
“What for?”  
“You know… for… Hitting you all those times?”  
“It’s okay. I-I’m not worried about it at about it…”

“Still… Thinking about it… I feel bad,”  
“I-it’s okay! Don’t worry about it!”

**Endnotes: So yeah, it was going to end in a confession scene! I wrote this before the rest of the chapter and decided by this point while I was polishing it out that mayhaps Rock's love life would have to develop some more before getting to this point. I feel the story turned out better because of it. I like the scene with Cut now, he is a swell friend. If I were to write a sequel we would have the focus on his love life as well. I love writing to him tbh. He's in the same vein as the comedic friend as Axl, but he's not a gamer otaku like Axl is. OR IS HE??? (no)**

**Author's Note:**

> Additional notes: This fic was sprouted from my fantasies. I liked to imagine what it would be like if Mega Man characters were in school, and my imagination went through several phases. 
> 
> To name a few: There was a point where X wore the necklace- (the one given to him by Zero above) in honor of his dad who died in a car crash. And other things as well. Such as Zero wearing a pair of dangly blue crystal earrings because X gave them as a birthday present one year… X had a mom, a very sweet lady mind you, Cain was alive… Red died in a car crash, Axl lived in a foster home, the head of it hated him and he would scrounge around for money. He wore a pair of hearing aids that looked like headphones because his ears were damaged from the crash. Blues liked to dumpster dive and once found Axl’s ipod touch. 
> 
> Lots of ideas. Some of them garbage. I regret not writing Blues pawning off Axl’s ipod touch for 500 Zenny (about 50 USD) though. What would he have spent the money on? I fantasize too much, but I’m glad to have written this story down. A lot of my fantasies just have X and Zero have shoujo manga moments where they stare into each others eyes and flower petals swarmed around them. Axl goes ‘WOAH HOLY SHIT! You guys seeing this?! I’ve read enough manga to see where this is going!”  
> Thank you to each and every one of you who has read this. The ones with names and the copious amounts of guests. Another biiiig thank you to pleasestop32 for making this a lot less of a hot mess as this could have turned out. You deserve the world baby girl! (okay that was weird to say). I am still not sure how any of this even happened. I have never had the motivation to actually a finish and write a story as long as this. Freaky;;;  
> Well, see you again sometime! It's done and done!


End file.
